Former Sunderland and Bristol City manager Lee Johnson is close to becoming the new head coach of Fleetwood Town just two weeks after his dismissal at Easter Road, TeamTalk are reporting.
The Fishermen headed into the first international break with five losses and one draw in six games, sitting second from bottom having scored merely three goals. The club made the decision to relieve manager Scott Brown of his duties on Monday.
Brown’s assistant manager Steve Whittaker, formerly of Rangers and Norwich City, was also sacked and Fleetwood Town decided to put U21s head coach Matt Lawlor in charge during Tuesday’s 2-0 home win over Tranmere Rovers in the EFL Trophy.
The Lancashire club’s fixture with Blackpool this weekend was postponed due to the international break so the team won’t play again until the following Saturday, giving the board plenty of time to find a permanent replacement for Brown.
According to TeamTalk, the former Celtic captain’s successor has already been found as Lee Johnson is set to take the reins at Highbury Stadium having been unemployed for two weeks after losing his job with Hibernian in the Scottish Premiership.
Hibs lost five games from nine under Johnson this season in all competitions, including a 5-0 thrashing at home against Premier League outfit Aston Villa in the first leg of the UEFA Europa Conference League playoffs.
This heavy defeat was followed up by an embarrassing 3-2 loss against Livingston in the league at home once more, leading the hierarchy to pull the plug on Johnson’s time in charge of the Hibees.
Nonetheless, the 42-year-old won’t be out of work long and could be announced as the new Fleetwood Town manager over the coming days.
Writer’s View
Johnson had early success in his managerial career and achieved an eighth-place finish with Bristol City in the Championship during the 2018/19 campaign before lifting the EFL Trophy with Sunderland two seasons later.
Unfortunately, a dismal run of results saw his time at the Stadium of Light come to a disappointing end while his stint with Hibs came to a similar conclusion.
Now, Johnson will be hoping to turn his fortunes around by taking Fleetwood Town away from the discomfort of a possible relegation dogfight.
