Accrington's Fearnhead appointed Academy Manager at Southampton

Duncan Fearnhead has left Accrington Stanley after 12-and-a-half years to become Academy Manager at Southampton.

Fearnhead will assist Saints Academy Director Andy Goldie and effectively replaces Natasha Patel, the former Assistant Academy Director at the club, who is now Director of Sporting Analytics for US Soccer.

Fearnhead joined Accrington in 2012 as an Academy Coach and went on to become Head of Academy Coaching, in 2017, and Academy Manager, in 2021.

Announcing his departure on LinkedIn, he said: “This decision has not been made lightly, as my time here has been incredibly fulfilling, and I am proud of what we have achieved within the Academy over the years.

Throughout my time here, I have always been trying to raise the standards in all that we do to reach the highest possible level and during this time we have seen tremendous progress both on and off the pitch.

“With support from other staff, we set our Academy Vision to be the best Category Three Academy in the EFL, and I truly believe we’ve made massive strides towards that, making incredible progress over the last three years in particular.

“I’d like to thank all that have been involved in the journey and wish you every success in the future.”

Meanwhile, former Tottenham and West Ham winger Matthew Etherington has been appointed Under-21s Assistant at Southampton, working with new U21s Head Coach Simon Rusk.

Etherington has worked for Colchester for the last 10 months, as U21s Lead, and also had a brief spell as Manager of Crawley Town. Rusk joined in July from Nottingham Forest, where he was Set Piece Coach.