League two strugglers Barrow name Phil Brown as boss

Sky Bet League Two strugglers Barrow have appointed former Hull City boss Phil Brown as their new manager until the end of the season.
Phil Brown is the new manager at Barrow AFCPhil Brown is the new manager at Barrow AFC
Phil Brown is the new manager at Barrow AFC

The Cumbrian club parted company with boss Mark Cooper on Sunday afternoon, following their 2-1 home derby defeat to Carlisle United 24 hours earlier.

That was a result that leaves Barrow, who were promoted back into the Football League in 2020, fourth from bottom in league two, just six points above second-from-bottom Oldham, who have a game in hand.

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The Cobblers travel to Barrow on the final day of the season.

The club moved quickly to replace Cooper by appointing Brown, whose most recent post was an unsuccessful one at Southend United.

He was relieved of his duties at Roots Hall in October, with the Shrimps sitting in the bottom four in the National League, having been relegated last season.

Barrow will be the eighth professional club that Brown has managed, with his most successful stint coming as boss of Hull City, who he guided into the Premier League in 2008.

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He also claimed promotion from league two in his first stint at Southend in 2015, but has struggled for any sort of success since.

Joining Brown as assistant manager at Barrow is former Carlisle United and Blackpool boss Neil McDonald.

Barrow have won just two of their past 13 matches in league two, with one of them the 1-0 success against the Cobblers at Sixfields in February.