Newcastle United on the hunt for new Under-21s lead coach as Diarmuid O'Carroll leaves for new role

As well as recruiting for a new CEO and a new sporting director, Newcastle United have begun the search for a new lead coach for their Under-21s.

Diarmuid O'Carroll joined Newcastle in September last year, replacing Ben Dawson after his ill-fated move to Leicester City to work under Steve Cooper.

The former St Mirren coach led the Magpies to a ninth-place finish in the Premier League 2 last season.

But with less than a year in the role, the Magpies are once again on the hunt for a replacement for the U21S lead coach role as O'Carroll has joined Sparta Prague's senior coaching team.

Newcastle United have confirmed the departure of Diarmuid O'Carroll

The news was confirmed today via the Newcastle United official website and quoted Academy Director Steve Harper in wishing Diarmuid well.

“The opportunity to work in Europe is an exciting one for him and we wish him the best of luck as his coaching career continues.

“He is the third professional development phase coach to be headhunted from our Academy for a first team senior football role in the last 12 months, which demonstrates that our Academy development pathway works not just for players but for staff too.

“The process of recruiting a new Under-21s lead coach is underway.”

Staff turnover in the Under-21s coaching role has been a bit too high

As Harper says, O'Carroll is the third U21s lead coach to leave in the past year, all of whom have gone on to roles as first-team coaches.

Ben Dawson is still without a club after leaving Leicester City in February. There's a chance we could ask him to return. Or we could look for a new up-and-coming coach to take over the role.

We wish Diarmuid O'Carroll the best of luck and hope that Newcastle can recruit a new coach swiftly.