Wigan Athletic confirm Kolo Toure as their new manager

Wigan Athletic have taken to social media to confirm Kolo Toure as their new manager, following the sacking on Leam Richardson earlier this month. 

Wigan sacked Richardson after a run of eight successive games without a win and approached Toure’s younger brother Yaya about the role. However, he turned it down. 

Therefore, Wigan turned their attention to Toure – who had been working as first-team coach at Leicester since February 2019 – and announced his appointment on Tuesday, November 29.

As a result, Toure will become the first African international to ever manage in senior English football – having previously worked under the likes of Brendan Rodgers. 

Kevin Betsy and Ashvir Johal will be joining Wigan alongside Toure, while Rob Kelly has agreed to continue in his role as Assistant Manager.

Toure has just under a fortnight to prepare for his managerial debut. He will be in the dugout on Saturday December 10 when Wigan face Millwall. 

Therefore, he will fly out to Turkey to meet up with the Wigan first team, who are currently on a mid-season training camp. 

Commenting on Kolo’s appointment, Chief Executive Malachy Brannigan said: ‘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.

His appointment comes after Leam Richardson (c) was sacked after nearly two years in charge

‘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.

‘There is no doubt that this appointment is an exciting one for the Football Club. Kolo is a manager who wants to play a positive brand of football and will strive every day to make the Club stronger.

The manager – who led the Latics out of administration and to the League One title last season – was dismissed after a run of eight successive games without a win

Toure (left) has worked as a coach under Brendan Rodgers for both Celtic and Leicester

‘The work starts immediately with the first team squad, as the season is just a couple of weeks away from restarting.

‘As a Board of Directors, we look forward to working closely with Kolo and his team as the work begins collectively to establish Wigan Athletic as a Championship Club.

‘I am sure that all Latics supporters will get behind the appointment of Kolo Touré, give their backing to the staff and the players, as the Football Club begins a new, exciting era – starting at Millwall on December 10th.’

The former Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool defender has cut his teeth into coaching since he retired at the end of the 2016-17 season after a season at Celtic.

Wigan are said to have originally set their focus on hiring Tottenham coach Yaya Toure 

Yaya (left) wasn’t interested so Kolo (right) became their target for the job instead 

He carried on at the Scottish giants as a technical assistant, before Brendan Rodgers brought him over to Leicester when he took over as manager of the Foxes.

Yaya has not been in coaching for as long, having two short spells at Ukrainian side Olimpik Donetsk and Russian Premier League club Akhmat Grozny during 2021.

He then took up a part-time at Spurs for eight months while he worked towards his UEFA A Licence. Yaya then became head coach of Tottenham’s Under-16’s side back in August.

More to follow…