Former Preston North End, Portsmouth and Wrexham man lands first managerial job
Former PNE midfielder lands first managerial role with non-league club
Ex-Preston North End man Adam Barton has been appointed player-manager of National League North side Curzon Ashton.
The 35-year-old will take charge at the Tameside Stadium following a five-year playing spell - which will continue alongside his managerial duties. Barton has made more than 200 appearances for the club so far.
The Clitheroe-born man signed a professional contract with PNE in December 2008 after impressing at youth level. He had previously been released by Blackburn Rovers at the age of 16.
He went on loan to Crawley Town the following season, making two appearances, then broke into the North End first team in 2010. After another two-year deal was agreed, Barton scored his first goal for North End away to Burnley.
That season, he went on to make 33 appearances for the first team. But, the midfielder suffered a suspected triple leg break in February 2012 and was ruled out for the rest of the season.
He moved to Coventry City in August of that year after making 58 appearances and scoring three goals for the Lilywhites. After three years at the Sky Blues, including a loan move to Fleetwood, he had spells with Portsmouth, Partick Thistle, Dundee United, Wrexham and others.
Barton headed to Curzon Ashton in 2021, where he has stayed ever since. ‘The Nash’ sit 16th in the sixth tier after a 4-1 defeat to Spennymoor Town on Tuesday night.
Club Chairman Jim Newall told the club website: “We are delighted to promote Adam and Jordan (Richards, defender) to the positions of manager and assistant manager. Both men have given so much to the club as players and we as a board believe they are more than capable of stepping up into management and driving us forward.
“We have seen in previous seasons how promoting from within can bring great success and we hope with this appointment the club can continue to progress. We recognise that this season hasn’t gone as well as we would have hoped and we want to give Adam and Jordan adequate time to put their stamp on the team and prepare for next season.”