Wigan Athletic have appointed former Arsenal and Manchester City Ivorian defender Kolo Toure as their new head coach. The African was given a three-and-a-half-year deal. The 41-year-old replaces Leam Richardson after he was sacked by the Championship club earlier this month.
The Ivorian has spent the past five years coaching at Celtic and Leicester City under Brendan Rodgers but this is his first role in management. Toure’s first game in charge will be the trip to Millwall on 10 December. Wigan is 22nd in the table but won their last game against Blackpool before the break for the World Cup.
Wigan chief executive Malachy Brannigan made the information about the appointment of the manager on the club’s website: ”We are delighted that Kolo has become the new manager of Wigan Athletic Football Club, and the board are pleased that he is the man to take us forward.”
He also said: “We received a high calibre of applicants for the manager’s job in recent weeks, in a very thorough recruitment process as we looked to appoint the right person for the role.” “From the earliest of conversations we had with Kolo, it was evident to us that he had instantly bought into the values of the club – with his enthusiasm, knowledge and immense desire to work and be part of Wigan Athletic shining throughout the process.”