Kolo Touré has been appointed as the new manager of the Championship club Wigan. The former Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool defender succeeds Leam Richardson, who was sacked this month.
Touré has signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with Wigan after leaving his coaching role at Leicester. He takes over at the DW Stadium with the club 22nd in the table having won six of their 21 games, after winning promotion as League One champions under Richardson last season.
The cief executive, Malachy Brannigan, said: “We are delighted that Kolo has become the new manager of Wigan Athletic Football Club, and the board are pleased that he is the man to take us forward.
“We received a high calibre of applicants for the manager’s job in recent weeks, in a very thorough recruitment process as we looked to appoint the right person for the role. From the earliest of conversations we had with Kolo, it was evident to us that he had instantly bought into the values of the club with his enthusiasm, knowledge and immense desire to work and be part of Wigan Athletic shining throughout the process.
“There is no doubt that this appointment is an exciting one for the football club. Kolo is a manager who wants to play a positive brand of football and will strive every day to make the club stronger.”
Leam Richardson, who was sacked this month, leads the celebrations after Wigan won promotion in April. Photograph: James Baylis/AMA/Getty Images
Touré, a former Ivory Coast international and Africa Cup of Nations winner, first came to English football when he joined Arsenal in 2002. He won the Premier League as a member of the Gunners’ Invincibles side in 2004 before going on to win another title with Manchester City in 2012.
He later had spells with Liverpool and Celtic before moving into coaching under Brendan Rodgers, first at the Scottish club and then at Leicester. The former Crawley manager Kevin Betsy and Ashvir Johal, who had been working alongside Touré at Leicester, have also been appointed to Wigan’s coaching team.
Rob Kelly, who had been caretaker manager since Richardson’s departure and oversaw a win over Blackpool in their most recent game, is to remain at the club as an assistant manager. James Beattie, however, has left his coaching position.
Touré will now link up with the first-team squad at their mid-season training camp in Turkey. Their first match after the break for the World Cup is at Millwall on 10 December.
