Newcastle's new U21 manager speaks after leaving assistant manager role in Scottish Premier League

At the weekend it was revealed that Newcastle United had reached an agreement with Scottish Premier League side St Mirren to take their assistant manager Diarmuid O'Carroll as their new Under 21s manager.

After Ben Dawson left Newcastle to join the first-team coaching set-up at Leicester City under Steve Cooper, the Magpies have had former Sunderland and St Mirren boss Jack Ross along with Neil Winskill installed as interim bosses.

Diarmuid O'Carroll held a dual role as St Mirren assistant manager and senior coach for Northern Ireland, the latter of which O'Carroll will continue to do while at Newcastle too.

The 37-year-old has a wealth of experience at all levels of coaching and will now take over the reigns of getting the U21s up to the level they should be.

Diarmuid O'Carroll couldn't resist the call of Newcastle United

Now that he's linked up with the club, the 2006 Roy Keane look-a-like competition runner-up (he lost to the actual Roy Keane going under a fake name) has spoken to the club's media team to express his delight at landing the role.

"I'm really excited to come in. It's a role I'm really looking forward to getting stuck into.

"The club speaks for itself in terms of the size, stature and fanbase. It's a really exciting time now as well with the ownership and everything that is planned going forward.

"The opportunity to come in is something I would've never expected, but when it come across my desk, it was a really exciting one and a quick process."

Steve Harper says the recruitment process was rigorous

Academy Director Steve Harper said he was delighted to have O'Carroll on board.

“I’m delighted Diarmuid has accepted the opportunity to become Lead Coach of Newcastle United Under-21s.

“He is a young, progressive and ambitious coach, and will play a key role in supporting our talent pathway into the first team.

“I’d also like to thank Jack Ross, Neil Winskill and everyone connected with the Under-21s for their hard work and collaborative approach while we recruited into this position.

“We have gone through a rigorous process, and in Diarmuid, we have an exceptional coach and person joining us. I’d like to welcome him to the Newcastle United family.”

*For legal reasons, none of that is true