Barnsley sack their manager as League One rivals appoint new boss

Wigan Athletic, who are 15th in League One and two points above Northampton, have appointed Ryan Lowe as their new head coach on a three-and-a-half-year contract. The 46-year-old has been out of work since leaving Preston North End in August. He replaces Shaun Maloney, who left the Latics earlier this month.

“I’m pleased to be here because it’s a fantastic football club with history and tradition,” said Lowe. “The club has had some good times and some bad times, and I’m here to bring the good times back. Hopefully we can have the Brick bouncing every Saturday afternoon and Tuesday evening.

“I’m really excited about the project and I liked what the ownership group had to say. They showed me the vision of the football club and talked about getting the club back to where it belongs – and the first target is to get to the Championship.

“We’ve got to take short, mid and then long term steps to get there. We’ve got a vision and a plan, which is the most important thing. If we all buy into that plan and vision, I’m sure we will be successful. I’m really excited for the future and to build Wigan Athletic back to where they should be."

Meanwhile, Barnsley have sacked Darrell Clarke after nine months in charge. Appointed only last summer, Clarke’s side had slipped to 10th after losing seven of 11 prior to his departure.

Assistant coach and former Barnsley captain Conor Hourihane has been placed in interim charge for final 10 games, and will be assisted by coaches Jon Stead, Martin Devaney and Tom Harban, with the club stating that they will take ‘some time’ to appoint a permanent manager.

Chairman Neerav Parekh said: "Darrell has worked extremely hard to try and get the team competitive and pushing for promotion, unfortunately, we find ourselves eight points away from the play-offs and feel that a change is needed.”

Barnsley are the 13th League One club to change manager since the season started in August.