Lee Johnson Named As New Barnsley Head Coach

Barnsley have appointed former Oldham boss Lee Johnson as their new head coach on a three and a half year deal

Johnson, 33, currently the third youngest Football League manager, was unveiled at Oakwell.

He becomes Barnsley's sixth permanent manager in less than six years. Barnsley, who sacked former boss Danny Wilson 13 days ago, have agreed an undisclosed compensation package with Oldham Barnsley's have released a statement saying

"From the outset the board determined that it was seeking young candidates with strong coaching credentials and astute tactical awareness. A clear and attractive football philosophy and a viable plan to implement that philosophy was also sought. The board also gave some credit for a knowledge of our club's current playing contingent, the teams in our division and proven ability to recruit players with development potential.A small number of candidates were interviewed and Lee Johnson was selected as significantly the best of these. He met the selection criteria established and also produced a specific plan for Barnsley Football Club for his first 100 days in charge. This included a playing strategy, specific tactics, identified current weaknesses and credible recruitment targets to strengthen our team.'' Johnson steered Oldham clear of relegation at the end of that campaign, he has lifted hem to within two points of a play-off place on a modest budget this time around. Former Yeovil and Bristol City midfielder Johnson, son of former Yeovil boss Gary, became the youngest manager in the Football League at the time when he was appointed by Oldham. Barnsley were thrashed 5-1 at Crawley in caretaker-manager Mark Burton's first game in charge but have since secured back-to-back league wins to lift them eight points clear of the bottom four.