RECENTLY-relegated Tranmere Rovers have confirmed the appointment of former Luton manager Gary Brabin at Prenton Park.
The 44-year-old left Southport in January to take a coaching role in the academy at Everton, the club he supported as a boy.
But the lure of another attempt at winning promotion from the Conference has proved too strong to resist with the club whose 94-year Football League membership came to an end with the drop from League Two.
Brabin, who has previously taken both Luton and Cambridge United to Conference play-off finals, told the club’s official website: “I have gone on record in the past as saying that the role I was doing at Everton was my dream job, and I did not think that anything would tempt me into leaving there.
“I have had approaches from other clubs and declined them, but the Tranmere job is special. The chance to lead one of the three famous old Merseyside clubs back to where it belongs in the League is a fantastic challenge that is hard to resist.
“The decision was also partly down to the chairman: it is unusual to be able to work with a chairman who is a football man through and through and Mark and I have a shared vision of what was needed to get the foundations right for the future.
“I know that the club and its fans are hurting right now because of relegation, but I am confident that we can restore the club to its former glory and play some football that will put a smile back on the fans’ faces.”
