Former AFC Totton assistant boss Sean New has narrowly escaped jail after being convicted of stealing from the firm he worked for.

While Stags fans were cheering on their team earlier this week, they and indeed the players, had no idea the club’s assistant manager had just escaped a prison term for theft and fraud.

New was part of the hugely successful management set up as the non-league club charged towards promotion from Evo-Stik Southern Premier Division – only to lose 4-2 in the play-off final at Oxford City on Monday.

Only this week the 42-year-old quit his role with Totton and was unveiled as the new assistant manager of Conference South side Havant and Waterlooville alongside Totton’s former manager Stuart Ritchie.

Yet outside life in non league football New was convicted of stealing thousands of pounds from the company he worked for by purchasing power tools and then selling them on his personal Ebay account.

New, a married dad, from Weston Lane, Southampton, ordered dozens of items through the accounts of his company, RBM Industrial Supplies, before selling them on to make cash.

The theft is said by police to have run to £11,000 and included the sale of a variety of tools including power drills and generators.

New’s fraudulent ways were uncovered by bosses at the firm, which is based in Southampton’s eastern docks, when discrepancies were found in their accounts.

New was then arrested in November 2011 and quizzed over the allegations.

The 42-year-old was charged in March this year with theft by employee and fraud by false representation.

At his first appearance before magistrates in Southampton, he pleaded guilty to the charges. He was handed a three-month jail term, which has been suspended for 12 months and told he will have to carry out 150 hours of unpaid community work as part of his punishment.

New was also ordered to pay £1,000 in compensation to his former employers, for whom he worked for more than two years. He was sacked by the company last year.

Speaking about the sentence, Adrian Gordon, managing director of the firm, said he felt betrayed by New.

He added: “What he did caused significant damage to my company, but we are over it now and are moving forward.”

It was in 2004 that New arrived at AFC Totton alongside Mr Ritchie.

Together they have led the club to repeated success including reaching the FA Vase final at Wembley in 2007.

When asked separately about the court case, Sean New, AFC Totton and Havant and Waterlooville all said they did not wish to comment about this.