Two Plymouth Argyle legends will be at the helm for a new era at Torquay United Football Club.

Paul Wotton, who racked up an incredible 491 appearances in two spells for the Greens, has been named the new Torquay manager after leaving his role at Truro City.

Supporting Wotton as Football Advisor at Plainmoor is Neil Warnock, who famously guided Argyle to promotion with a play-off final win at Wembley in 1996.

The duo were unveiled in a Torquay United press conference hosted by the ownership group at Plainmoor, the Bryn Consortium.

“I am absolutely thrilled to be here; it is a great opportunity for myself. Torquay United is a club I know all about and a club I’m excited to be joining,” said Wotton.

“It is time for me to make that jump and Torquay is the perfect jump for me. I’m very excited and genuinely thrilled to be here.

“This is the perfect step for me, from my previous club. I managed against Torquay on Boxing Day and there were nearly 4,000 people at the game. The atmosphere was great, I feel like I’m ready for that challenge and it’s the next logical step for me as a young manager.

“I was at Truro for five years, a big chunk of my life. Truro is a brilliant football club and there were successful times. When you leave a good club with good people, there is always an element of sadness but football is football.

“I have many good friends at Truro and memories that will live forever but it’s time to make a new chapter now and to make new friends. I’m an emotional guy, I’m quite intense when it comes to football and I just want to get going.  

“The club has a tremendous fanbase. There have been tough times of late but, with a new Board, it is a clean slate and exciting times for everybody. There is a vision that we all share.

“There is pressure in everything you do but pressure is what you allow it to be. Having a career in football, I was very lucky to be involved after leaving school and there is always pressure to win games, pressure to get promoted, to not get relegated, to earn another contract.

“Every game has pressure, whether you’re at the top of the league, in the middle or down the bottom, and you also have to manage expectations. If you don’t have pressure in football, what’s the point?

“I’ve only just left employment at my previous club but work starts now on recruiting players, and I’m in negotiations with a few of last season’s squad that I’m keen to keep. It’s going to be a busy time but that’s the same for every manager.

“I’ve got to find players that fit the criteria that I want, not just the ability but also the character, which is huge. Every successful team I’ve been in, as a player, an assistant or as a manager, has had a tremendous work ethic, tremendous will to win and tremendous togetherness.

“I will sign players that will give everything for Torquay United, that’s the only promise I can make. The 11 players on the pitch will give everything they’ve got for Torquay United, or they won’t be playing.”

Warnock added: “If it wasn’t for Torquay, I don’t think I would have had the career I’ve had. I was only here for a short time but it was period where [my wife] Sharon and I had been in the top flight to join a club just about to get relegated out of the Football League.

“The games I had gave me the enjoyment to see genuine lads putting in a shift, people like Darren Moore, Paul Trollope and Tom Kelly. I had turned down Chelsea the year before and then got the sack at Notts County, which shows what football is all about.

“We absolutely loved it down here and it transformed the rest of my career.

“Paul’s got a good future in football and it’s nice for us to put Torquay back on the map. You can’t do it on your own as a manager, you need help, and the Board is the same.

“It is a great day for the club to look forward and put it back where it should be. I’ve always thought Torquay United could be a League One club, so we will see where we can go.”