Football – Coventry City appoint Delaney and Dempster as first team coaches

COVENTRY City have appointed Mark Delaney and John Dempster as first team coaches ahead of the start of the 2024/25 season.

As part of a restructure of the club’s first team coaching setup, City have appointed Delaney and Dempster after the pair worked with the Sky Blues during pre-season.

Both coaches have also worked in the club’s academy in recent years and join George Boateng, Rhys Carr and Aled Williams in supporting manager Mark Robins this season.

Robins said: “I am very pleased to welcome Mark and John as first-team coaches.“Both have impressed me, other staff and the players when we have worked with them, and will bring much knowledge, insight and experience to their new roles.

“Increasing the coaching resource at first-team level will allow for us to continue to grow and develop players collectively and as individuals, allowing greater focus to our coaching provision.

“It is testament also to the academy that both Mark and John have impressed in that environment and are now being brought into the first-team set up, and emphasises the pathway that exists on and off the field for people to progress.”

Delaney made more than 150 appearances for Aston Villa in the Premier League as a player after spells with Carmarthen Town and Cardiff City.

The 48-year-old also won 36 caps for Wales before retiring in 2007 and rejoining Villa as an academy coach in 2008.

He eventually became the club’s senior professional development phase coach for Villa’s under-23s in 2015 and departed the club in 2022.

He also took charge of Villa’s first team which featured only academy players in an FA Cup third round match against Liverpool following an outbreak of Covid the year before his departure.

Delaney joined the Sky Blues in September last year as lead professional development phase coach and also took charge of the club’s under-18s side.

In pre-season, Delaney has worked closely with the first team squad on an interim basis and will now move permanently to the club’s training ground at Ryton and the first team setup.

Dempster joined the Sky Blues in February 2020 as lead professional development phase (PDP) coach and senior PDP coach in 2022.

He led City’s under-21s side to the Professional Development League title in 2022/23 and also the final of the Birmingham Senior Cup.

The 41-year-old represented Scotland at under-21 level as a player and spent time with Rushden and Diamonds, Oxford United, Kettering Town and Mansfield Town before hanging up his boots.

He became academy manager at Mansfield in 2015 and had a spell as caretaker manager in February 2018.

Dempster was appointed Mansfield’s first team manager in May 2019 but was sacked just seven months later.