(Football news) Kolo Touré is set to be appointed as the new manager of Wigan. The former Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool defender will succeed Leam Richardson, who was sacked this month after a run of terrible results. Touré has gone on to sign a three-and-a-half-year contract with Wigan after he left his coaching role at Leicester. He takes over at the DW Stadium with the club languishing in 22nd in the table having only won six of their 21 games, after winning promotion as League One champions under Richardson last season.
Touré, who is a former Ivory Coast international and Africa Cup of Nations winner, first came to the Premier League when he joined Arsenal in 2002. He went on to win the Premier League as a member of the Gunners’ Invincibles side in 2004 before winning another title with Manchester City in 2012. He had brief spells with Liverpool and Celtic before moving into coaching under Brendan Rodgers, first at the Scottish club Celtic and then at Leicester. The former Crawley manager Kevin Betsy and Ashvir Johal, who were working alongside Touré at Leicester, have also been appointed to Wigan’s coaching team.
Rob Kelly, who has been caretaker manager since Richardson’s departure and oversaw a win over Blackpool in their most recent game and is set to remain at the club as an assistant manager. James Beattie, their previous assistant manager has left his coaching position. Touré will now link up with the first-team squad in Turkey for mid-season training. Their first match will be after the World Cup break as they face Millwall on 10 December.
“We are delighted that Kolo has become the new manager of Wigan Athletic Football Club, and the board are pleased that he is the man to take us forward. We received a high calibre of applicants for the manager’s job in recent weeks, in a very thorough recruitment process as we looked to appoint the right person for the role. From the earliest of conversations we had with Kolo, it was evident to us that he had instantly brought into the values of the club with his enthusiasm, knowledge and immense desire to work and be part of Wigan Athletic shining throughout the process. There is no doubt that this appointment is an exciting one for the football club. Kolo is a manager who wants to play a positive brand of football and will strive every day to make the club stronger.”
Chief executive Malachy Brannigan
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