Crawley Town reveal new head coach

John Yems - picture courtesy of Crawley Town Football Club

Yems has asked Dannie Bulman to be involved in his management team, although Dannie will continue to be part of the playing squad. Edu Rubio will remain on the coaching staff in his current role.

It will be Yems’s second spell in charge of the Reds. Alongside Ben Judge and Dave Woozley, he led Reds to Conference safety on the last day of the 2007-08 season after we had started the campaign with a ten-point deduction.

Yems was assistant to Exeter manager Paul Tisdale for 18 months from 2009 and then spent six years with AFC Bournemouth and played an important part in the Cherries’ rise from League One to the Premier League in his role as Football Operations Manager. He was part of Eddie Howe’s management team and had responsibility for coaching and recruitment.

He has also worked at Fulham, Crystal Palace, Millwall, Torquay and Gillingham.

A Crawley resident, he has spent the last couple of years scouting for various clubs including Newcastle United and has been a regular at The People’s Pension Stadium this season. He is a UEFA A License coach.

John said: “It is an absolute honour to become manager of a club I hold in great esteem.

“The circumstances are of course sad because no one likes to see a manager leave the club and I know how popular Gabriele Cioffi was with the staff.

“I have seen quite a few of our games this season and I think we have a very good squad. You don’t beat the likes of Norwich City without having decent players, so I think our future is very bright.

“I’m really looking forward to working with Edu and the rest of the coaching staff and having Dannie as part of our management group as well. He played for me back in 2007 during his first spell with the club and he is a proper professional. It’s why he’s still an important part of the playing squad at 40 years of age.

“We haven’t been on the best of runs recently but I think we haven’t had much luck either. That can quickly turn and we’ve got a virtually fully fit squad now which helps too. Like I said, the quality in the squad is there. I’ll bring some fresh ideas and a lot of passion and hopefully I can utilise my 30 years of experience and contacts in the game to help too.

“I can’t wait to be back in the dugout on Saturday at Stevenage and I hope the travelling fans get right behind the team. I want to get the feelgood factor back at the club and have everyone on board and pulling in the same direction.”

Erdem Konyar, adviser to chairman Ziya Eren, said: “We’re delighted to have John with us. He is hugely experienced at all levels of football and Crawley is a club which holds a special place in his heart. It has been a tough week for everyone, but we wanted continuity and to make a quick appointment and we’re looking forward to what John can achieve with us. Onwards and upwards.”