Four new interim England national coaches appointed

Tuesday 28 Jul 2015
Paul Williams in action for Coventry City back in 2001
The FA has announced the appointment of four interim national coaches to support England’s development teams.

The experienced quartet of Keith Downing, Paul Williams, Mike Marsh and Eric Steele will all assist the current coaching structure for the foreseeable future. 

Downing, formerly of West Bromwich Albion, will take charge of the Under-20s age group while former Southampton coach Williams will assist with the U15s and U16s.

Keith Downing coaches during his time with West Bromwich Albion.

Keith Downing will take charge of England U20s after leaving West Bromwich Albion last season

Elsewhere, ex-Liverpool coach Mike Marsh will support England Under-17s while Steele, previously a goalkeeping coach with Manchester United and Derby County, will work across all junior teams.

Further to this and following the recent departure of John Peacock and Sean O’Driscoll to Derby County and Liverpool respectively, The FA has confirmed the permanent appointment of head coaches across several England age groups. 

Dan Micciche will oversee both the U15s and U16s age groups while Steve Cooper will take charge of the U17s. Elsewhere, Neil Dewsnip will continue to head up the U18s age group while also taking charge of the squad heading to this autumn’s U17 FIFA World Cup in Chile. 

Meanwhile, Aidy Boothroyd will move across to take charge of England U19s with Gareth Southgate continuing his role as U21s head coach. 

Eric Steele lists Derby County and Manchester United among his former clubs

Downing previously worked with West Bromwich Albion’s academy and first-team, including a stint as Roy Hodgson’s right-hand man, and took on the reigns at the Hawthorns in a caretaker capacity at the end of 2013-14 season. 

As a player he represented Notts County, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Birmingham City, Stoke City, Cardiff City and Hereford United before going on to manage Cheltenham Town.

Ex-England U21s international Williams started his playing career at Derby County before going on the represent Lincoln City (loan), Coventry City, Southampton, Stoke City and Richmond Kickers in the USA. 

Williams started coaching in America before returning to England for stints on the backroom staff at Aldershot Town and Eastleigh. The former centre-half then spent three years as youth development coach at Southampton. 

Marsh recently worked as first-team coach at Liverpool having started his playing career with his boyhood Reds before going on to chalk up spells at West Ham United, Coventry City, Galatasaray and Southend United. 

Mike Marsh during his days as a coach with his hometown club Liverpool.

Mike Marsh joins The FA from Liverpool, where he has worked under Brendan Rodgers in recent seasons

Steele, who won international caps at U18s level, was a goalkeeper for Newcastle United, Peterborough United, Brighton & Hove Albion, Watford and Derby County.

After setting up his own international coaching company following retirement, Steele has worked as goalkeeping coach at a host of clubs including Huddersfield Town, Derby County, Aston Villa, Manchester City, Blackburn Rovers and Manchester United. 

By FA Staff