Brackley Town confirm club legend Gareth Dean as new head coach on short-term deal

Dean will be assisted by Alastair Worby and former Brackley midfielder James Armson, who returns to the club in a coaching capacity.

Armson only joined Nuneaton as a player-coach in July but the Step 4 outfit have agreed to let him depart for Brackley.

The 36-year-old, a great friend of Dean’s, is back with the Saints two years after he left for AFC Telford United.

Armson spent the best part of a decade at Brackley as a player, racking up 284 appearances and 80 goals between 2016 and 2024.

Worby, meanwhile, is typically a goalkeeping coach for the Saints, and he has been for many years, though he is often named in matchday squads as a backup shot-stopper.

For the rest of the campaign, Worby will take on greater responsibilities alongside Dean and Armson.

This isn’t the first time Dean has taken charge of Brackley. In fact, it’s the third, as he was the interim after Roger Johnson and Gav Cowan left.

The legendary former centre-back and captain, who holds the club’s all-time appearance record, has been in a recruitment role since the start of the summer.

Dean has signed a short-term deal until the end of the campaign, when Brackley will decide who Whing’s long-term successor will be. Dean cannot be ruled out if he performs well.

Whing took the decision to step down from his duties as head coach after a run of poor form which left the Saints in the National League North drop zone.

Brackley were eager to bounce back following their relegation from the National League and Whing was strongly backed by the board with 18 new signings throughout the summer.

There was great belief internally that Whing could lead his young team to glory in Step 2, however the inexperience within the overhauled squad has so far proved detrimental.

A 5-0 thrashing away at Buxton and an equally dire 3-0 loss at Morecambe proved to be the nails in the coffin for Whing, who only won three of his 24 matches in charge.