The Club is pleased to confirm the appointment of former Sheffield United and Millwall midfielder Mark Beard as Assistant Manager to Simon Rusk, as part of a reshuffle of the backroom staff at Edgeley Park.
46-year-old Mark joins the Club from Brighton & Hove Albion, where he has been most recently been U18 manager after 5 years at the club. Brighton, a growing force in youth development, have just had one of their most successful seasons to date, being the top ranked side in the Premier League for minutes played by Academy graduates, Ben White and Robert Sanchez both being called up to their national teams for the Euros, and the U17’s winning the Premier League Cup – a side coached by Mark.
His passion for coaching has also seen him across a number of other positions, including Youth Team Coach at Crawley Town, where he spent two years, before leaving to set up the Love The Ball (LTB) Sussex Academy, which aimed to provide a route for academy players into first-team football.
Following his appointment, Beard will join Mark McGhee in assisting Simon for the 2021/22 season, whilst Dave Conlon has been appointed into a new role as First Team Coach.
It was today confirmed that Strength and Conditioning Coach Nick Donnelly will leave the Club, whilst our Head of Performance Analysis Sean O’Callaghan has also departed, in order to take up a new role at League One Burton Albion.
We would like to place on record our thanks as a club to both Nick and Sean for all of their efforts throughout their respective time at the Club, with Nick being part of the National League North title winning team of 2019, and wish them both well in the future.
In the short term, consultant Neil Parsley, who has previously worked with the England U21s side, will take on the role of Strength and Conditioning Coach on an interim basis, whilst Jack Hodnett will be stepping up as First Team Analyst whilst a recruitment process for both roles is conducted.
Director of Football Simon Wilson said:
“We welcome Mark Beard to the club, and look forward to benefitting from his considerable expertise. From references and having met Mark, supporters can expect a cutting edge coach who has served his time and is well prepared for the role. I’d like to place on record our thanks to Brighton, who were reluctant to lose Mark but did not stand in the way of this opportunity.
“I’m also excited for us to support the continued development of Dave Conlon as a coach, while improving the overall provision to players. Dave will this year be completing a Master’s degree in Performance and Coaching, and this new role in the wider team will provide the opportunity for Dave to focus on more specific elements across the team and individual players.
“For Nick and Sean, both well liked, committed and talented members of our staff who now move on to other things, I would like to say thanks for your contributions to the club and we wish you all the best in the future.”
First Team Manager Simon Rusk said:
“I’m delighted to have been able to add Mark into to our coaching structure here at Stockport County. He not only has a huge enthusiasm for the game, but also brings valuable experience at many levels of professional football, both as a player and coach, and I’m looking forward to working with him.”
