Lowestoft & Yarmouth are searching for a new head coach for next season following the decision of Scott Nelson to step aside following five successful years in the hot-seat.

Nelson had been a player with L&Y before moving on to North Walsham and then Carlisle before returning as player/coach in 2008 when the club were in crisis at the very bottom of Eastern Counties One.

Only a league reshuffle prevented their demotion that year but Nelson had taken the side into the London Leagues by 2009, on to the semi-finals of the RFU National Vase and then up to their current level in London 2 North East in 2011, thoroughly rebuilding the side along the way.

This season has been something of a struggle, with L&Y currently lying third from bottom in the table after picking up just five wins in 17 matches, their cause not helped by a five point deduction for their part in an incident in a match at Stevenage earlier in the season.

Now Nelson is considering a career offshore and believes it is time for someone else to take on the mantle.

The role envisaged is a part-time paid post and the applicant will need to be at least Level 2 qualified, with applications invited by Tuesday, March 26. The head coach would be in charge of the first team and co-ordinating all senior and junior coaching throughout the club, ensuring the continuation of the club's steady improvement and playing growth.

For more details contact L&Y's Director of Rugby Matt Jary on mkjary@btconnect.com .

Of more immediate concern is the club's latest league fixture against Stowmarket, the side immediately above them in the table.

L&Y know a win tomorrow would take them above their Suffolk rivals and up to fourth from bottom in the league, so the incentive could hardly be greater to record a first win since the 60-13 drubbing of bottom club Stevenage on January 12.

• The club's annual gentlemen's dinner, featuring former Lions and Ireland tighthead prop Paul Wallace as guest speaker, takes place at the Parkhill Hotel, Oulton Broad, on Saturday, April 13. Some tickets, priced £50 per head of £450 for a table for 10, are still available. Contact Matt Jary for further details.