Former Premier League striker James Beattie has been appointed the full-time manager of League Two side Accrington Stanley. Beattie has made well over 300 Premiership appearances for Southampton, Everton, Sheffield United and Stoke. He has been at Accrington Stanley in a player coach role since November but with the departure of Leam Richardson the board felt Beattie would be able to take on the role full time.
Accrington finished in 18th place in League Two after a tough season, the fans will be hoping that Beattie who has so much experience and has worked with a lot of good managers, will be able to use that experience and bring it to the Accrington side to make an improvement next season.
James Beattie is only 35 which is still not old in footballing terms but he obviously feels it’s time to call a day on his playing career and take the step into management. He will be hoping that he will be able to find similar success to another former player Paulo Di Canio who has worked his way up in management to the Premiership since retiring.
Beattie also has five England caps and was seen as quite a deadly finisher in his time in the Premier League here is a video of some of the strikers best goals.