Former boss Karl Rose returns to struggling Frickley Athletic after Lee Morris’ departure

KARL ROSE has returned as manager of Frickley Athletic to try and steer the club away from trouble in the Evo-Stik NPL Premier.

Rose stepped down as boss of Frickley at the end of August following a slow start to the season which saw the club lose their opening five league games.

It followed an impressive campaign for the Blues in which they finished seventh at Step 3 – their highest placing in a decade.

Rose was replaced by Lee Morris at the beginning of September but the former Derby County striker departed the club after Saturday’s 1-0 home defeat to fellow strugglers Halesowen Town – their fourth reverse in a row.

That result left the Blues in the relegation zone, although they are only in it on goal difference, and the club have turned to Rose in a bid to give them a late season boost.

Rose’s first game in charge will be Saturday’s trip to second-bottom Ilkeston with Frickley having seven games to save their Step 3 status.

The returning boss told Tom Feaheny: “I got a call last night (Monday) and was told they were thinking of making a change and would I be interested.

“It was a difficult decision to leave in the first place. I have become a Frickley fan, I love the club and the people up there. Hopefully we can put things in place quickly to make sure we finish the season strongly and that we stay in this league.

“As soon as they reached out to me and asked for help, I was more than happy to come back. We’ve got to try and get on a run and get as many as points as possible.

“We’ve got to be up for the game on Saturday at Ilkeston. They’re fighting for their lives and we’ve got to go and earn the points.”

A club statement added: “The club has today appointed Karl Rose as manager to replace Lee Morris who has left his position after seven months in charge. Karl will be assisted by Lee Stratford.

“We’d like to thank Lee and his staff for their hard work during their time with club and wish them well in the future. The club are urging everyone to get behind the new management team over the next seven games as we aim to move out of the bottom four.”