There will be a change at the helm at Merlins Bridge next season after Matthew D’Ivry confirmed he was stepping down following their historic double campaign.

The Wizards captured the West Wales Intermediate Cup for the first time in their history, and also won the Senior Cup after overcoming Carew in both finals.

But player-manager D’Ivry will now be replaced by the duo of Simon Thomas and Gareth ‘Taffy’ Williams, and the outgoing boss spoke to Telegraph Sport to explain his decision.

“The main reason I’m stepping down is for work and family commitments,” he said.

“I don’t want to take something on if I can’t give it 110%. But it was a great challenge and one that turned out very rewarding.”

D’Ivry said he was grateful to those who had helped him the past 12 months, and also endorsed his replacements.

“I want to say a massive thanks to the committee and the players who backed all my decisions and respected them. To lose three games all year in all competitions was incredible with the quality of opposition we faced.

“I’m delighted to leave a legacy for the club having finally won the West Wales Cup. That is something me, the players and Pembrokeshire League should be proud of.

“Good luck to Simon and ‘Taffy’. They are both very committed to the club and will do everything to continue the hard work with this squad.”

And Thomas, who has played for Merlins Bridge ever since starting out at junior level, acknowledged him and Williams had a tough act to follow.

“It’s a difficult task to come in after the success of last year but we’ll go again - and we want to succeed again.

“Both of us are looking to forward to the challenge and we’ll give it a real go.”

Bridge with foundations:

It’s never easy backing up a season like Bridge had last year, and Thomas and Williams will also have to cope without influential skipper Chris Ormond after he retired following their win at the Liberty.

But the pair are still inheriting a squad ready made to challenge and for all the success of last season, a first Division One title since 2011/12 just eluded them.

With that in mind, there shouldn’t be any problems with player desire and motivation.

In recent years the Bridge have tended to appoint from within and it has paid off, with Nathan Thomas leading the side to a Senior Cup before passing the reigns to D’Ivry. Thomas and Williams were involved with the second team squad last season but do have the advantage of already knowing all about who their working with.