Photo: Mark Avellino
Richmond have appointed former North Sunshine Eagles manager Paul Donnelly as their new Head Coach for the 2017 NPL2 season while also confirming the restructuring of their coaching department.
The 46-year-old succeeds Rick Mensink in charge of the 2015 NPL2 Champions who were relegated from the top-flight after a 4-0 defeat to the North Geelong Warriors in the promotion/relegation play-off last month.
He began his playing career in his native Scotland with Dundee before migrating to Australia where he briefly featured for South Melbourne in the 1989 NSL campaign.
Throughout the 1990s he played for a number of VPL sides including the Fawkner Blues, Werribee City, Albion Redsox and the Melton Reds before ending his playing career in the early 2000s with Altona East Phoenix who at the time were coached by Chris Taylor.
In 2013 he took over the reins of State League Three outfit North Sunshine whom he led through two promotion before resigning early this year after the club was deducted 12 championship points for their involvement in a pre-season melee against his former side Sunshine George Cross.
He most recently coached Cairnlea FC in State League 1 before departing the club following their relegation at season’s end.
Donnelly will be assisted at Kevin Bartlett Reserve by Darren Carr who in 2016 led the club’s 20s to the NPL Championship and is succeeded in his role by Andrea Lombardo who joins from Port Melbourne 18s.
Current Technical Director Savas Saglam has moved into the role of Technical Manager where he will be responsible for overseeing the entire football department at the club.
Saglam will report to the Board’s Football Director Chris Powell and Director of Coaching Rick Wilson.
In addition to a host of other changes within the junior coaching ranks, Tomasz Ng has been appointed as the Women’s State League One coach under the guidance of Paul Daly and Madeleine Marson.
The announcement means that 2016 first-team assistant Fausto de Amicis has departed the club, with the four-time NSL Champion rumoured to be a candidate for the vacant Bullen Lions managerial position 12 months after he departed his role as senior assistant at David Barro Stadium.