Tranmere Rovers have appointed Ian Dawes as the new manager of the club after being an integral member of the coaching staff for a number of years.
Dawes has been appointed as interim manager on three separate occasions and now the 39-year-old has been given the job on a permanent basis.
Rovers considered a number of candidates, but said Dawes' knowledge of the playing squad and staff as well as his coaching abilities were the deciding factors. Andy Parkinson will continue his role as first team coach.
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Dawes told Tranmere's official website after his appointment: "It’s an honour to be appointed manager of Tranmere Rovers. Having already had three interim spells, I’m now ready to take control of the team and implement my own style and ideas.
“It’s an opportunity I’m relishing and I want to reassure the fans that I personally hate failure and would not have taken the job unless I was confident of bringing success to the club.
“I know it is equally important to win games as it is to develop players. Every player that steps foot onto that pitch has to play for the badge and make the fans and the club proud and this is one of the key messages I will be implementing.
“With the players we have under contract, the re-signing of a few and adding the right players and balance to improve the squad, I believe we can see an improvement and get back to having something to play for come the end of the season, at the positive end of the table!”
Tranmere Rovers chairman Mark Palios said: "We have moved away from appointing experienced managers who have spent years on the managerial merry-go-round and who come (and go) with their own supporting staff because, each time one departs, the club they leave effectively has to start rebuilding its support staff and systems from scratch.
“A successful team needs a good manager, but it is equally important to get the recruitment and development right, so it is our intention to bring in an experienced Technical Director who will work alongside Ian Dawes and ensure that our recruitment and development systems are the best they can be, and that we get the balance right between the medium term aim of developing players, and the short term imperative of winning games, which is what we all want.”
Tranmere also confirmed today that defender Tom Davies has signed a new two-year contract with the club.
Davies, 31, said: “I’m really pleased and it’s been in the works for a while. There has been a bit of a period where we were waiting to hear about the manager but now that’s been sorted, I’m happy to be here for another two years and hopefully get this club competing for promotion.
“Since Dawesy has taken the reins he’s had a positive effect on myself and the group. Tranmere is somewhere I am enjoying playing my football and I’ve got a good relationship with the manager, so it became an easy decision for me.
“Now it’s about building on what we’ve got, having a good summer preparation and building a squad which will compete next year.”
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