Brannan back in the dugout for Stanley
ACCRINGTON Stanley FC announced the appointment of Ged Brannan as the club’s First Team Assistant Manager, with the 52-year-old signing a three-year contract at the Wham Stadium.
Brannan, who left his role as Morecambe manager to rejoin Stanley, previously played and worked for the Reds, and was instrumental in the development of current players - Liam Coyle, Jack Nolan, Tommy Leigh, and Dan Martin.
Having taken permanent charge at the Mazuma Mobile Stadium in November, he then led The Shrimps to a 15thplace Sky Bet League Two finish, with his side accumulating 34 points from a possible 87.
Brannan said: “I’m absolutely delighted to be back working with John, he’s a fantastic manager, and he’s a great friend of mine as well.
“We’ve always wanted to work together and we’ve got an opportunity now to push on, with great support from Andy Holt and David Burgess.
“I’ll always have a place in my heart for Morecambe and there’s a lot of lovely people over there.
“It gives us the chance to work together and look at players, bring players in, and I can’t wait to get started now.”
Manager Doolan, added: “I’m so happy. First and foremost, Ged is a top man, but he’s a top coach as well, and he’s proved that when he was here with the Under-23s.
“He’s gone to Morecambe and then stepped up into the manager’s role, and excelled there as well.
“Ged knows everything about the club, he knows how I work, I know how he works, I know we can work together, and that’s why
I’ve asked him to come back here.
“I just want to thank the Board for helping me to get Ged back here, it’s a weight off my mind, and he’s now going to be part of the player recruitment, so he’ll have a massive say on the players that come in.”
Brannan, who began his playing career with Tranmere Rovers, played 238 times and helped the club defeat Bolton Wanderers in the 1991 Play-Off final to achieve promotion from the Football League Third Division.
In March 1997, Manchester City paid a
£750,000 transfer fee for the Liverpudlian and he then spent one full season at Maine Road, before a loan move to Norwich City.
However, a £375,000 switch to Motherwell was agreed and his temporary stint in Norfolk was terminated after just two months, with Brannan remaining in North Lanarkshire for the next two-and-a-half-years.
Following permanent spells at Wigan Athletic, Dunfermline, and Rochdale, the midfielder signed for Stanley in the Nationwide Conference and made a total of 65 appearances for the club between 2003 and 2005.
After a short period playing for Radcliffe Borough, he then joined The Shrimps and achieved promotion to the Football League in 2007, making Brannan the first player to do so at both the old and new Wembley.