Former Walsall boss and legendary player Dean Keates has returned to management with National League strugglers Wrexham.
STATEMENT | Dean Keates appointed Wrexham AFC manager.
Details 👉🏻 https://t.co/dG6YZ9MxAa
🔴⚪️ #WxmAFC pic.twitter.com/XKQ4TSn6DU
— Wrexham AFC (@Wrexham_AFC) October 6, 2019
Keates left the Red Dragons in March 2018 to take over the hot seat of his hometown club following the departure of Jon Whitney, however his spell at Walsall wasn’t a great one with the Saddlers being relegated from League 1 last term. In his first season he was able to fight off the threat of relegation, securing safety at Bradford City in the penultimate league game.
The Saddlers departed with Keates in April 2019 following a 3-1 home defeat to Oxford, interim boss Martin O’Connor was unable to keep the Saddlers in League 1.
Wrexham were on the look out for a new boss following their poor start to the season, with the Red Dragons currently in the relegation zone in the National League.
Keates is fondly remembered by Wrexham fans having played over one hundred and eighty games for the Welsh club and then taking over as manager in 2016 and guiding them to a play-off spot in 2018.
Despite his poor record as Walsall boss I am sure many will wish Deano the best of luck for the future. The job at Walsall came far too early but a job Deano couldn’t turn down, hopefully his stint as Walsall boss will have made him more knowledgeable and he will learn from his mistakes.
All the best Deano.
