Former Golden Jaguars head coach accepts England U21 role

Former Golden Jaguars tactician Michael Johnson has accepted a coaching role with the England U21 national programme ahead of the team’s 2021 UEFA Under-21 Championship qualifying campaign.

This was disclosed by the Football Association [FA], England’s governing and regulatory body. It was also confirmed by the Guyana Football Federation [GFF] via a press release.

The former Derby County stalwart and Jamaica international will now join the ‘Young Lions’ under-21 management squad as a Specialist Coach. The management squad, which is headed by Aidy Boothroyd, will be for the 2019/20 campaign.

Johnson, who was appointed to the helm of the local programe in June 2018, etched his name in history after overseeing Guyana’s maiden qualification and campaign in the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

He officially tendered his resignation from the post effective August 13th and Brazilian Márcio Máximo was appointed Interim Head-Coach for the 2019-2020 CONCACAF Nations League effective August 21st.

According to the official release from the GFF, President Wayne Forde applauded Johnson for his contribution in fostering the development of professional standards of the programme.

Johnson’s appointment to the U21 post is part of the next phase of an Elite Coach Placement Programme working across England men’s teams throughout the 2019-20 season.

The main aim of the programme, which was initiated in 2018, is to help solve the challenge of under representation of Black and Minority Ethnic [BAME] coaches working at the highest level across international and domestic football.

Johnson ended his one year tenure with the Golden Jaguars sporting a record of three wins, six losses and a draw.

Guyana defeated Turks and Caicos 8-0 and Belize 2-1, while the 2-2 Barbados draw was overturned by FIFA to a 3-0 score in favour of Guyana, after it was deemed that the Barbadians fielded two ineligible players.

On the other hand, Johnson suffered defeats against Suriname [3-1], French Guiana [2-1], Bermuda [1-0], Haiti [3-1], USA [4-0] and Panama [4-2]. Their only draw was a 1-1 stalemate with Trinidad and Tobago in his final match.