NILTON TERROSO is rumoured to be the man Cefn Druids want as their new head coach.

The Ancients have been searching for a new permanent boss since Huw Griffiths left the club in January.

Stuart Gelling picked up the reins until the end of the 2019/20 Cymru Premier season, which was cut short by the coronavirus pandemic, but that was only ever a temporary arrangement.

And it's Terroso, who spent eight years working his way up the ladder at Cardiff City, who appears to be a frontrunner for the vacant position with the Frenchman having managed Atlético Clube de Portugal and Olhanense since leaving Wales.

The 40-year-old former Sporting Lisbon youth team player, who played at age-group level for both Canada and Portugal, arrived in south Wales originally to study performance coaching and analysis at the University of Glamorgan.

Terroso made the most of the university's partnership with Cardiff and from arriving as youth team fitness coach, he fulfilled a number of roles, including working with the first team under Malky Mackay as the Bluebirds won promotion to the Premier League and the development team when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer came in as the club's new manager.

If Terroso is the man to take over the Druids hotseat then the club's players might just find they are the fittest they've ever been.

Terroso – who played for Sporting at youth and reserve-team level – had arguably one of the most important roles at City.

For Terroso worked closely with Bluebirds head of performance Richard Collinge in setting up and running a sports science department at the club in 2011/12 season.

At the time, then-Bluebirds boss Mackay said: “We have a medical and sports science departments to be proud of.

“Lots of extras have been introduced to prevent injuries and ensure every player is in the best possible shape for matches.

“We must measure tiredness in players, dehydration levels and so much more.”

On matchdays Terroso led the pre-match warm-ups and post-match cool-downs, as well as making sure that players took ice baths and wore compression tights.

“They are not the most popular with players but can be essential,” he said.

“I also work with players on nutrition, hydration, overlooking plans on fitness development, analysis and anything else needed.

“We have even taken Youth Academy lads shopping to show them which are the best foods to eat and some of our younger first-team players have had cooking classes.

“The biggest factor is education, helping the players make decisions on what to eat and how to live when they are not at the training ground.

“Then they can make their own decisions.”