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Barrow appoint ex-Premier League manager who recently didn’t get Oxford City job

Barrow appoint an ex-Premier League manager who recently didn’t get the job at Oxford City despite being interviewed for it.

That man is ex-Hull City boss Phil Brown, coming in on a deal until the end of the season to succeed Mark Cooper, who departed on Sunday.

The 62-year-old is reunited with Neil McDonald as his assistant, and joins a Bluebirds side 21st in the League Two table, six points above the relegation zone.

Brown, who left Southend in October, has managerial experience at several clubs including Derby and Preston, and more recently was interviewed at National League South club Oxford City, but missed out on the role.

His first game in charge will be away to Leyton Orient on Saturday.

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CLUB STATEMENT:

The Club is delighted to announce the appointment of Phil Brown as First Team Manager on a contract until the end of the 2021/22 campaign.

Brown will be assisted by Neil McDonald, who returns to The Dunes Hotel Stadium after playing a key role in our EFL survival last season during a spell working alongside Rob Kelly.

Having managed over 500 games across all four divisions in England, Brown arrives with a wealth of experience to call upon during The Bluebirds’ League Two run-in.

A defender in his playing days, the South Shields born Brown made over 600 league appearances during a career which saw him represent Hartlepool United, Halifax Town, Bolton Wanderers and Blackpool.

He served as assistant to Sam Allardyce at both Blackpool and Bolton Wanderers before stepping up to management himself for the first time in the summer of 2005 when he was appointed boss of Derby County.

However, it was his spell in charge at Hull City which really established Brown as a boss as he led The Tigers to a glorious promotion to the Premier League in 2007/08 before defying the odds to keep them in the top flight the following season.

After a year in charge at Preston North End, Brown then put down roots with Southend United where he successfully delivered promotion from League Two in his second full season at the helm.

Following five years with The Shrimpers, Brown took charge for a stint at Swindon Town before experiencing managerial life abroad when he took on the challenge at Indian Super League outfit Hyderabad.

However, he returned to England to retake the reins at Southend who were six points adrift of safety at the base of League Two. Brown oversaw two victories and a run of six games undefeated at the end of the campaign, but it wasn’t quite enough to see them pull off a remarkable escape.

Brown and McDonald met with The Bluebirds’ coaching staff at the training ground on Monday morning and will be in the dugout for the first time for the game at Leyton Orient this weekend.

Twitter users reacted as Barrow appoint the ex-Premier League manager who recently didn’t get a job at Oxford City…

@ConorSammon100: My thoughts and prayers are with the Barrow fans at this tough time.

@TaylorBAFC: Bold move from the board. It has been mistake after mistake from them since promotion. Unfortunately, the blame has to lie with those at the top if we ultimately go down. If we do survive, serious lessons have to be learnt.

@George26011: You’re going down

@therealdaddsy: My deepest condolences. Prepare for some hoofball, some over reliance on players in their mid 30s and the systematic destruction of confidence for any player under 21. Sorry lads

@WahlbergBlue: Hope you’ve got high wheel arches on your team bus?

@acameron78: Southend would still be a League club had they appointed Brown a month earlier last season. This year was a disaster but I don’t get the hate. Good luck to Phil and to Barrow.

@StuartAkister: Stadium manager to replace Forsyth do you mean? You surely can’t actually mean as the football manager

@pieman80: Lovely bloke, love to go to pub with him. Abit of a dinosaur when comes to management.

@JamesHibbert11: For all the people moaning give him a chance he took over a dead Southend team last year and couldn’t get a miracle judge him by his actions Saturday and even then if he does get the 3 wins we need we can find a better manager in the summer and the rebuild and clearout starts

@pchristophers: We were very much still alive when he took over. But if you don’t want to judge him over a short period working with someone else’s players look at what he did when he was given a big budget and free reign to overhaul the squad in the summer.

@croucher222: Can we just hold a minutes silence please for all the Barrow fans out there! And breath and hope for the best!

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