Rochdale have appointed caretaker boss Brian Barry-Murphy as their permanent manager.
The forty-year-old Irishman has signed a two-year contract.
He was put in temporary charge following the dismissal of Keith Hill and Chris Beech in March and has secured an impressive eight points from an available 12 while at the helm, with the team having won two and drawn two under his management.
Barry-Murphy initially joined Dale as a player in 2010 after making almost two hundred and fifty appearances for local rivals Bury. He has been part of the coaching staff at Spotland since the 2013/14 season.
In a statement on the club’s website, chairman Andrew Kilpatrick said he was confident he had the right man for the job and added the players were fully behind the appointment.
The statement also said; ‘This appointment is singularly well-merited and, we hope, ushers in a new and exciting chapter for Rochdale AFC.’
‘We have seven vital games remaining this season. I hope that everyone will get behind Brian and the team, giving them our full support for the rest of the campaign and beyond.’
The majority of Rochdale fans seemed delighted that Barry-Murphy had been given his chance and soon took to Twitter to offer their congratulations and support.
However, there were some who criticised the board for not waiting until the end of the season and for offering a two-year contract.
Here is a small selection of responses to the news.
100% the right decision, even if we get relegated. Not many managers would happily abide by our budgetary restrictions and BBM will maintain our youth team philosophy. Young, exciting and hungry manager! Chuffed!
— Jacob Wright (@JacobAWright96) April 3, 2019
If we go down it'll be because we didn't get rid of Keith quickly enough. This is the right decision for me, he knows the club, the players obviously respect him and have responded well. And we've only conceded 3 goals in 4 games rather than the standard 20.
— Kris (@krish0w) April 3, 2019
The right choice ,he knows team Rochdale & his record speaks for itself. Good luck BBM
— gaynor o'farrell (@gparrdale2) April 3, 2019
https://twitter.com/tommycoleman07/status/1113337585257078786
Still not 100% convinced that this isnt a little bit premature (like United with Ole), but he's given us a fighting chance and I'm right behind him.
— James Weston (@jtweston88) April 3, 2019
https://twitter.com/FaulknerMikey/status/1113336858812080129
https://twitter.com/dannyiontton/status/1113379569933987842
Right decision in my eyes, even if we go down, he will maintain a happy squad and happy footballers play better football. It’s been clear over past 5 games… #upthedale
— Jack Rhodes (@Jirho93) April 3, 2019
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