Congratulations to Warrington Town NPLFA head coach Keith Southern who has moved to Everton FC to primarily assist with their U18s alongside roles with the younger age groups.
Keith was appointed head coach at the Warrington Town Academy in July 2016, replacing his friend Nick Chadwick who also moved in to the professional game with Wigan Athletic as their U18 Academy coach. Southern who played for Blackpool in their Premier League season said:
“I’m very fortunate, that I’ve got a brilliant role at Everton which I am relishing every single day. I work primarily assisting the U18s age group but I also work with all other age groups. I’m learning from terrific coaches on a daily basis like Paul Tait, Sean Lundun to name a few. I’m working day in day out with elite players in an environment which in my eyes is the best academy in the country at developing young players. It all came about last summer through a friend of mine Phil Jevons who is the U16 coach. I played with Phil in the youth team twenty years ago at Everton. I asked him if I could basically come in and watch some sessions and learn. It all stemmed from their really. From then on I worked part time for about 4/5 months with the U12s and then I was fortunate enough to be offered a full-time position.”
The former Premier League midfielder has had a successful eighteen months with the Yellows’ Academy winning their first ever piece of silverware in the inaugural NPLFA Cup back in May 2017, an achievement that stands out as the coaches’ best memory.
“Yes, I thoroughly enjoyed my time working with the NPLFA and Warrington Town and I made some friendships that will remain important to me for many years to come. It was a very enjoyable experience. The best moment for me was winning the NPLFA Cup Final at Stoke City at the end of last season. The lads put a great deal of effort in during the course of the season and were rewarded for their efforts in beating a good Matlock side.”
“I’ll definitely be keeping tabs on everything to do with the NPLFA from all the lads I’ve coached to the general results week in week out from all the teams involved. I speak to Toby Macormac (WTFC Chairman) and Mark Baker (WTFC tutor and coach) regularly so I’ll been a keen observer to everything that goes on.”
An NPLFA spokesman concluded “We have mixed emotions on Keith leaving. We are delighted that he has got a fantastic opportunity at a Premier League club but obviously we are sad to see a coach of his calibre leave the programme at the same time. Keith has been superb to deal with during his time with Warrington’s academy and everyone at the Cheshire club and the NPLFA will be sad to see him go”
On behalf of everyone at the NPLFA, we wish Keith the very best of luck in his new role.
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