BARNSLEY HAVE APPOINTED Neill Collins as their new head coach on a two-year deal after Derry City manager Ruaidhrí Higgins admitted to having talks with the side about the vacancy.
The former Leeds United and Sheffield United defender Collins arrives at Oakwell after Michael Duff left for Swansea.
Last season, Duff took the Tykes to the League One play-off final, where they lost against Sheffield Wednesday at Wembley.
Higgins, who took over as the Derry boss in 2021, said today that his commitment to the League of Ireland club ”can never be questioned.”
“I genuinely don’t feel that my commitment to this club can ever be questioned,” Higgins said, as quoted by BBC Sport.
“I didn’t go looking for anything, let’s be assured of that, and I never will go looking for anything.”
“Barnsley approached the club last week for permission to speak to me,” Higgins added.
“That was granted, I spoke to them and had a couple of conversations. That’s where it ended.”
Collins, 39, moves back to South Yorkshire having enjoyed a successful spell in the United States at the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
“I am absolutely thrilled to be stepping back into the EFL and even more so to be joining a club of this stature,” Collins said on Barnsley’s website.
“Everything I do will be aimed at repaying the faith shown in me by the owners and (chief executive) Khaled (El-Ahmad) and of course giving the Barnsley faithful a team that they can be proud of.
“I am fortunate to be working with a squad that just achieved a play-off final, but understand there is a lot of work to be done if we want to replicate that success and go a step further.
“I can’t wait to get started and work on getting this club back to where it belongs.”
Collins added: “I would like to say a huge thanks to the Tampa Bay Rowdies for supporting me in exploring this opportunity. Without all the staff and players’ incredible hard work this would not have been possible.”
Barnsley chief executive Khaled El-Ahmad is confident Collins can take the club forward as they look to challenge for promotion back to the Championship.
“We are happy to be able to bring Neill to Oakwell to work with our staff and continue upon the foundation we implemented at the start of the last campaign,” El-Ahmad said.
“The primary focus is now allowing Neill to settle in and begin to build relationships with the staff and players at Oakwell and commence preparations for the upcoming season.”
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