Notts County Football Club are delighted to announce the appointment of Shaun Derry as first team manager.

Nottingham-born Derry is no stranger at Meadow Lane, having joined the club as a 10-year old, and he spent three years here at the start of his professional career, between 1995 and 1998.

In the 1997.98 Division Three championship campaign, the tough-tackling midfielder played 27 times before moving on to Sheffield United for a significant six-figure fee.

A natural leader, who has been a popular figure at every club he has represented through his passionate displays, Derry has captained Portsmouth, Leeds United, Crystal Palace and Queens Park Rangers.

The 35-year-old has a played pivotal role in promotions to the top-flight with Palace and QPR and is now looking to transfer his successful playing career into management.

Having worked with some top bosses, including Tony Pulis, Harry Redknapp and former County boss Neil Warnock, Derry has all the credentials to take the club forward.





Experienced former Carlisle United boss Greg Abbott has joined the Magpies’ backroom team as Derry’s assistant manager.

Chairman Ray Trew said of the appointment: “When we, as a Board, sat down to identify the credentials that we were looking for in our next manager, we were agreed that we needed someone who understood this club and what it means to our fans.





“I have to be honest and admit that Shaun wasn’t someone that we had thought of initially, but that was only because he was still enjoying a successful career as a player at a higher level.





“However, when he contacted me to declare an interest in the position, he was an applicant that we simply couldn’t ignore. What he has achieved as a player, coupled with the leadership that he has shown throughout his career, make him the ideal candidate for a managerial role and he made it clear that he wanted that role to be with his hometown club.

“There are question marks over his credentials, simply because this will be his first managerial role, I know that, but there are doubts with every managerial appointment and we, as a Board, have to put our faith in who we think is the right man for the job,” he added.





“Shaun is someone who can relate to the players and, perhaps more importantly, relate to this club, but he is not naïve enough to think that he could take this step alone.





“That is why he has turned to Greg Abbott, a man with a wealth of experience in the Football League, as a coach and manager, and someone that he has worked with in the past, to assist him in his new role. Having met with them both at length I am confident that they have what it takes to not only turn our fortunes around this season, but to go on and deliver the success and stability that we are craving here at Meadow Lane.”





Shaun will take up the managerial role with immediate effect, meaning his first game in charge will come in the FA Cup with Budweiser First Round trip to Hartlepool United this weekend.