Tag: Darren

Swansea City: Darren O’Dea in charge as Vitor Matos bid stalls
22 November 2025 Off

Swansea City: Darren O’Dea in charge as Vitor Matos bid stalls

By Total Football News

Swansea, who are 18th in the Championship having won only one of their past seven league games, have given no indication as to how long the interim coaching team will remain at the helm.

Following the trip to Bristol City, the Swans host Derby County next Tuesday before visiting West Brom the following Saturday.

Swansea initially targeted Hellberg, but the Hammarby coach is set for second-placed Boro.

Former Liverpool coach

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Darren O’Dea: Swansea City to name Celtic coach as assistant boss
22 May 2025 Off

Darren O’Dea: Swansea City to name Celtic coach as assistant boss

By Total Football News

Swansea City are close to finalising a deal to make Celtic’s Darren O’Dea their new assistant boss to head coach Alan Sheehan.

In March, Sheehan added former team-mates Richard Stearman and Mark Fotheringham to his backroom team on short-term deals.

But after being appointed Swansea’s head coach on a permanent basis, Sheehan said further changes to his staff were likely during the close season.

He has been targeting his fellow

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Darren Cann: ‘We don’t referee differently with VAR’
28 April 2025 Off

Darren Cann: ‘We don’t referee differently with VAR’

By Total Football News

Match officials do not referee matches any differently despite the “safety net” of video assistant referees, says retired Premier League official Darren Cann.

Cann, 56, retired this month after over 1,000 games as an assistant referee, including a record 579 in the Premier League.

The VAR system was introduced in the Premier League at the start of the 2019-20 season.

There is often a suggestion that referees do not make

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Darren Cann: Premier League official draws on roots to counter crowd hostility
16 November 2024 Off

Darren Cann: Premier League official draws on roots to counter crowd hostility

By Total Football News

Darren Cann is the most experienced match official in Premier League history – and he has a simple strategy for coping with the verbal abuse that inevitably comes his way at times.

The 55-year-old from Norfolk, who overtook Mike Dean’s record of officiating at 562 top-flight games last month, has refereed and run the line for two decades in front of 50,000-plus crowds – often impassioned by decisions against their

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Darren Eales: Newcastle United chief executive to step down after cancer diagnosis
27 September 2024 Off

Darren Eales: Newcastle United chief executive to step down after cancer diagnosis

By Total Football News

Newcastle United chief executive Darren Eales will step down from his position after being diagnosed with a chronic form of blood cancer, the club has confirmed.

Eales, 52, joined Newcastle in August 2022 and will continue in his role until a successor is appointed.

“Being CEO of Newcastle United is an extraordinary privilege and I am incredibly proud to be part of the club’s exciting journey,” Eales said.

“However, it

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