Tadcaster Albion appoint former jockey as new manager

O’Connell joins from Harrogate Railway, where he had been since 2019. He led them to the play-offs in the last two seasons, but couldn’t get them promoted.

He started out in football with Nottingham Forest and Celtic, but then had a very successful horse racing career, with just under 500 race wins to his name.

Once his career in horse racing was over, he returned to football, playing for Garforth and Harrogate Railway, before shifting to coaching. He coached at Darlington from under-16s up to the first team, and then returned to the Rail, where he turned them from a team battling relegation, to a team battling for promotion.

After missing out for a second time, he believed he had taken the team as far as he could, and resigned.

He has been tasked with getting The Brewers to bounce back, after they were relegated from Step 4 at the end of the season.

Picture Credit: Harrogate Railway Athletic