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    JUST IN: Wigan Athletic appoint Kolo Toure as their new manager

    Emma TeeBy No Comments3 Mins Read

    • Former Arsenal, Manchester City, and Liverpool defender Kolo Toure has been hired as manager of Wigan Athletic. 

    JUST IN: Wigan Athletic appoint Kolo Toure as their new manager
    JUST IN: Wigan Athletic appoint Kolo Toure as their new manager

    Kolo Toure has been appointed the next manager of Wigan on a three-and-a-half-year contract.

    The 41-year-old Ivorian, who has been serving as Leicester’s first-team coach since February 2019, held negotiations with the Championship team earlier this month and has already finalized his move to the DW Stadium.

    Although Toure played for Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester City throughout his playing career and worked with coaches like Arsene Wenger, Jurgen Klopp, and Roberto Mancini, he has no previous managerial experience.

    Ashvir Johal and Kevin Betsy will join the 118-cap Ivory Coast international at Wigan, and Rob Kelly will serve as his assistant.  James Beattie has left the club.

    Now that his new teammates are in Turkey for a midseason training camp, Toure will follow them there. On Saturday, December 10, they will resume their Championship campaign against Millwall.

    Wigan has been looking for a new manager ever since they fired Leam Richardson on November 10—just two weeks after giving him a new three-year contract—following an eight-game losing streak.

    After selecting Toure as his successor, Wigan’s chief executive said: “We are delighted that Kolo has become the new manager of Wigan Athletic and the board are pleased that he is the man to take us forward.

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    “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.

    “The work starts immediately with the first-team squad as the season is just a couple of weeks away from restarting.

    “As a board of directors, we look forward to working closely with Kolo and his team as the work begins collectively to establish Wigan Athletic as a Championship club.

    “I am sure that all Latics supporters will get behind the appointment of Kolo Toure, give their backing to the staff and the players, as the football club begins a new, exciting era.”

    Despite being third-from-last in the Championship, Wigan is only in danger of being relegated because of goal differential.