John Russell, the Manager of the Westport United Super League Team has been appointed as the Assistant Manager of Sligo Rovers for the forthcoming season. He will be taking up the post in January and leaving his role as Manager of the Westport United Super League Team.

Speaking on the appointment, Myles Staunton, Chairman of Westport United said the following:

"First and foremost , we are delighted for John Russell that he has been appointed as the assistant manager of Sligo Rovers. It speaks volumes about the calibre of John's coaching skills and the esteem that he has been held in by Liam Buckley and all at Sligo Rovers. We are naturally disappointed to be losing John at this stage, but would like to thank him sincerely for his commitment to Westport United and the level of professionalism he has brought to the club. In his time with the club, he has gained the respect of everyone including the players, making the transition of the United squad seamless, leading us to the last 32 of the FAI Junior Cup with a great game to look forward to on January 13th. We wish John all the very best in his role with Sligo Rovers and for his future managerial career. We look forward to our ongoing excellent relations with Sligo Rovers and will always regard John Russell as a friend of our club. We hope his time at Westport United will be a stepping stone to eventually having a very successful managerial career ahead of him."

Speaking on his appointment and about his time at Westport United, John Russell commented:

"I'd like to thank Westport United for giving me the opportunity to manage their Super League team. Westport is a very forward thinking club with great facilities and a professional mindset. I've huge respect for the committee and the people behind the scenes. It is a very attractive job and I'm sure there will be a lot of interest in the role.

I've thoroughly enjoyed my time at Westport. It was a pleasure to coach and manage the current group of players. There are a lot of talented players with a tremendous work ethic who have a togetherness, I wish them every success going forward, especially in the last 32 of the FAI Junior Cup. Finally, I'd like to thank my backroom staff who have put in a huge amount of work over the course of the year and I have no doubt they will continue to build on the foundations put in place."

Westport United would like to place on record its thanks to John for the work he has done with the club over the past season while in the context of the big games coming up in the New Year, the backroom staff led by FAI Junior Cup winning manager, Pádraig Burns, will all remain in place to ensure a seamless continuity of the work undertaken by John Russell.

We will now start the process of recruiting a new manager for the Super League Team immediately.