Forest Green Rovers made shockwaves on Tuesday night when they announced that Hannah Dingley will replace Duncan Ferguson as their interim manager.
It comes as an historic first for English football as Dingley becomes the first woman to take charge of a men's football team in the senior leagues. And while it may track that the EFL's most famously progressive football team, known for its commitment to green energy and veganism, would become the first club to take that leap, but take the optics and symbolism out of it and Dingley was the sensible choice for the top job while the search for an permanent manager goes on.
It didn't come from nowhere. More often than not it's the youth or reserve team manager who is called upon in these situations and Dingley, a highly-rated coach in FA and EFL circles, had been in charge of their academy since 2019. In many ways, it would not have been a great look not to give her the reins, and an audition to be named as Ferguson's permanent replacement.
But who is Hannah Dingley, what's her story, and what can fans watching with interest expect from English men's football's first ever female head coach? Record Sport takes a look.
Who is Hannah Dingley?
As women's football goes from strength to strength in England, its biggest named have been linked increasingly with vacancies within the men's game. Chelsea's Emma Hayes was, rather insultingly many argued, tipped as one of the favourites to take the MK Dons' job in 2021 before the shot it down in flames.
But while we've seen Hayes, Sarina Wiegmann and former Scotland boss Shelley Kerr among those tipped to switch across, those in the know would have told you well in advance that Dingley was the favourite to shatter this particular glass ceiling.
She's never sought the spotlight but rather grown as a coach in the shade...difficult to do at a club building a stadium made almost entirely of wood. Cutting her teeth within the pyramid coaching sides at tier seven and eight, Dingley has since spent almost a decade within the setups at Notts County and Burton Albion before joining Forest Green in 2019, where she's since spearheaded the academy and been credited for a firm integration with the senior setup. Highly-rated talents Harvey Bunker and Finn Bell are among the players to make the step up while she has been in her current role.
Dingley has earned her stripes by becoming one of the most respected figures behind the scenes at the club, who will play in League Two this season after sliding out of League One under Ferguson. But she's long been aware of the responsibility that comes with an appointment that is symbolic...even if it shouldn't be.
Speaking back in March, she told the BBC: "You've got a responsibility as the first to open the doors for others and to encourage others. You always say if you don't see it, you're probably not going to be it. The fact that I do this I hope it encourages more females to come into coaching, into football, into different roles. I feel a great responsibility to talk about that.
"The first woman to coach a men's team will come in sooner than you think. The success that the Lionesses are having, that Emma Hayes is having at Chelsea. There are others, really good female coaches out there who I have more than faith in would be more than capable of coaching at a men's level."
Dingley will take charge of her first game this weekend against Melksham Town and will be the person responsible for overseeing much of pre-season before the League Two kick-off in a month's time. But she's viewed as a safe pair of hands and her willingness to step up has cooled the need for Forest Green to rush in a replacement.
It wouldn't be a surprise to see Dingley still in the dugout come August 5 when they host Plymouth Argyle in the league opener. It's a role she has earned on merit through hard work and her natural ability as a coach, but however it plays out from here, it's a major barrier broken down and a step in the right direction for men's football.
