Former Preston North End coach lands Turkish Super Lig job alongside ex-Bristol City and Charlton Athletic man

A former Preston North End academy coach has landed a job in the Turkish Süper Lig.

At the age of 27, Kieron Lovelady has been appointed first-team coach at Adana Demirspor. The Southport local, according to Training Ground Guru, is now one of the youngest English coaches working at first-team level across Europe’s top 10 leagues.

Lovelady worked with new Adana Demirspor boss, Mustafa Alper Avci, at Manchester City’s academy. He was there for three years and worked as a foundation phase lead coach across under-nine to under-14 level. Alper Avci, who came over to England in 2021, worked at Chorley and Port Vale before City.

As for Lovelady, his coaching journey started at 18 when he took charge of Southport U18s. He then went on to work with North End’s academy as well as Port Vale. He graduated from Robbie Fowler’s football academy.

Lovelady has made the move to Adana Demirsport alongside Dean Holden, who will be Alper Avci’s assistant. The former Bristol City and Charlton Athletic boss previously worked as Steven Gerrard’s number two at Al-Ettifaq.

“Staff and players were a class act.”

"It’s an incredible opportunity to be part of Adana Demirspor’s first-team set-up," said Lovelady. "I’m excited to contribute to the club’s ambitions and continue my development as a coach at the highest level.

“I’m grateful for the experiences that have brought me to this point and look forward to embracing this new challenge."

On his time at PNE, he reflected: “I thoroughly enjoyed my time working with the U15’s at Preston, the staff and players were a class act. I left on very good terms to Man City leaving the group I inherited in a better place than when I came in”

Lovelady and co will be tasked with keeping Adana Denispor in the division, with the club sitting bottom of the table after 21 games. After losing 3-5 at home to Kasımpaşa last weekend it’s a trip to league leaders Galatasaray this Sunday.