Departure confirmed but new man to be named imminently
We can confirm that Shaun North will leave AFC Wimbledon to become Cheltenham Town FC’s new first-team coach.
Shaun (pictured left with Neil Cox above), who joined the club last July, headed up the club’s new Under-21 development programme and he departs with glowing praise of his coaching abilities from Neal Ardley.
However, the Wimbledon manager revealed that a quality replacement will be announced imminently.
“We thank Shaun for everything that he did with our Under-21 programme in its first season,” said Neal. “He was a huge success, but this was a job that Shaun felt he could not turn down and it would have been wrong for us to have stood in his way. We have already interviewed an excellent candidate to replace Shaun and we will ensure we get the right person in to fill a role that we view very seriously.”
Shaun, who got his big break in coaching at Portsmouth’s academy, has previously filled first-team coaching roles at Bristol Rovers and Torquay United and he felt that joining Cheltenham was an offer he could not refuse.
"I’m really looking forward to starting life with Cheltenham Town," said Shaun. I'm disappointed to be leaving Wimbledon because I had a good time there but I am really looking forward to the new season. This has given me the chance to work back at first-team level and I have missed that over the last year.
"My time at Wimbledon was fantastic. The people there right throughout the club are unbelievable. What they have done in a short space of time is a miracle and the manager and staff have been fantastic to work with during my year. I cannot praise them highly enough and it was a very difficult decision to leave.
"I am most definitely the kind of coach who will be first on the training pitch and last off it. Football is my life. It always has been and it always will be."
Shaun will take up his new role on Tuesday, 1 July, subject to paperwork being completed, and he will work alongside Mark Yates, Steve Elliott, Ian Weston and Steve Book in a new-look backroom staff.
Of course, Shaun guided AFC Wimbledon to London Senior Cup success at the end of last season and the club wishes to thank him for all his efforts during the past year.
Please see the official website soon for news of Shaun’s replacement.