Duane Darby has left Southern League Redditch United within days after bringing in former Lye Town manager and Stourbridge coach Mark Jones as his new number two.
The surprise departure of the former Cradley and Bromsgrove Rovers manager and Football Conference winner with Rushden & Diamonds was announced on Friday evening.
Jones was unveiled at The Trico Stadium on Wednesday as the Reds ramped up preparations for the possibility of an August start to the 2021/22 Southern League Premier Division Central season.
A short club statement announcing Darby's exit read: “As the club prepares for next season and following a meeting between the director of football Sajid Ali Mahmood and first team nanager Duane Darby.
1st TEAM | Darby Departs The Redshttps://t.co/haGV0V5UJP pic.twitter.com/O70QLPDUsu
— Redditch United (@RedditchUtd) April 17, 2020
“The club announces that Duane has left the club with immediate effect. I would like to place on record the club's appreciation of Duane and his efforts and wish him well in the future.”
“An announcement on his replacement will be made in due course. Any enquiries to be addressed to info@rufcofficial.co.uk.”
The Reds appointed ex-Football League star Darby as the successor to Ian King in November 2019. As a player, the 46-year-old scored more than a 100 times for a host of clubs including Hull City, Doncaster Rovers and Notts County.
He won promotion to the EFL from Non-League with Rushden & Diamonds before going on to play for Hednesford Town, Alvechurch and Nuneaton Borough.
Make sure you get your copy of The Non-League Paper this weekend for the latest news on the impact of the coronavirus crisis on football after Step 3 & 4 sponsors BetVictor announced they were terminating their title sponsorship last weekend and the National League's clubs prepare for historic votes on how to conclude their suspended campaigns.
In shops on Sundays and Mondays, The NLP is always available as a pound-busting digital edition and full replica of the printed paper from midnight on Saturdays. Save cash on single issues, even more on longer deals and the pages still rustle too!
Images courtesy of @RedditchUtd/Twitter
