Notts County have confirmed the appointment of former Bristol City Under-23 coach Luke Williams as their new manager with former Robins academy player Ryan Harley as his assistant.
The 41-year-old was looking for a new role in football after leaving Swansea as Russell Martin's assistant in February due to personal reasons. His only previous stint as manager came at Swindon when he failed to keep them in League One during the 2016/17 campaign.
Williams was in charge of the Robins' development side for two-and-a-half years before leaving in November 2019. Less than an hour after his departure was confirmed, he was appointed the assistant to Martin at MK Dons.
During his time in BS3 he had developed a reputation for his work in helping bring through City's younger crop of players. He helped oversee the development of Antoine Semenyo, Zak Vyner, Max O'Leary and Taylor Moore to name a few.
Notts County were looking for a new manager since May after former boss Ian Burchnall left to take charge of Forest Green Rovers with Rob Edwards heading to Watford.
The National League side believe Williams is the man who can guide them back to the Football League at the fourth time of asking following their relegation in 2019. Harley came through the youth ranks at the Robins making just three appearances in League One before joining Weston-Super-Mare.
A statement from the club read : "We’re delighted that Luke and Ryan have joined us as our new head coach and assistant head coach.
“Between them they have the right management skills and experience of all EFL divisions, as well as the National League, which we believe will help us achieve our goal of promotion and getting back to where we feel we belong.
“Luke's values and playing principles are aligned with our own and we feel the continuity and consistency this brings will be a huge factor in ensuring a smooth transition to his leadership.
“We have been very impressed not only with Luke’s general character, but also his excitement about this opportunity and his fierce determination to succeed.
“He fully understands the pressure and expectation that comes with this role and we can see he’s ready to take on the challenge."
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