League Two club appoint ex-Preston North End, Leicester City and Stoke City star as manager
He has first team coaching experience at PNE and Stoke City
Preston North End legend Paul Gallagher has landed his first job as a head coach.
League Two club Barrow have appointed the Scot as successor to Andy Whing, who was sacked in December. Joining Gallagher at Holker Street is former PNE captain John Welsh, who has coached in North End’s academy since 2022.
Barrow sit 19th in the fourth tier after 24 games and Gallagher will kick off with a home game against Bristol Rovers this weekend. One player he will be working with is his ex-PNE team mate, Tom Barkhuizen.
Speaking for the first time as Barrow boss, Gallagher said: “First and foremost, I am very grateful and honoured to be Head Coach of Barrow. I am really excited and It is something I’m looking forward to.
“Coming in to the club was a real opportunity to get myself back on the grass and coach the players. I think I have engaged really well with the players and staff, and becoming a Head Coach is something I wanted to do and next step on my journey.
“I think we have got some really good players in the building and my job is to get the best out of them individually and as a collective. As a club we want to be as one, if we are going to be successful, we need everybody and that ethos is something I want to try and bring to the football club.
“I want us to be aggressive, on the front foot and the players to express themselves on the pitch. I also want us to dominate with and without the ball but also be really difficult at times to play against.
“I’m also really pleased to be able to bring John Welsh to Barrow as Assistant Head Coach. John is somebody I’ve worked alongside on and off the field for a long-time now and I know that that he has a lot to offer and will be a great asset to the existing Coaching staff.”
Gallagher made 313 appearances for PNE and transitioned into the coaching staff post-playing. He worked under Alex Neil, Frankie McAvoy and Ryan Lowe, before reuniting with the former at Stoke City - another one of his old clubs - in the summer of 2023.
Barrow CEO Iain Wood
He said, “Since Andy’s departure in mid-December we have undertaken an extensive process to identify the next permanent Head Coach and during this period we have spoken with multiple candidates.
“During this time, Paul Gallagher was appointed as a member of the Interim coaching team to assist Neil McDonald across the festive period and since coming into the building, we’ve been really impressed with Paul, his skillset and ideas.
“It became clear that Paul was a strong candidate for the permanent Head Coach position in his own right. The recent games against Tranmere and Salford have seen an upturn in performance levels and we believe that as Paul’s influence increases, performances will continue to improve.
“We’re aware that this appointment is significant for the club in the short and long-term, we believe Paul meets both those needs and we're really pleased to have him join us. With the decision to make Paul Head Coach we felt it best to allow him to bring his own person in to assist the club moving forward.
“We’d like to place on record our thanks to Neil McDonald for leading the team during the festive period and wish him all the best in his future endeavours.”