Graham Westley: Barnet appoint new head coach

Former striker Graham Westley played for Barnet in 1987

League Two strugglers Barnet have named former Newport County boss Graham Westley as their new head coach to take charge of first-team affairs.

Westley, 49, who previously managed clubs including Stevenage, Preston and Peterborough, had been out of football since being sacked by Newport in March.

Mark McGhee was announced as Barnet's new manager in November but the Scot is now in the role of head of technical.

The Bees are bottom of League Two, four points below 22nd-placed Chesterfield.

In a statement on Barnet's website, McGhee said: "Graham will take charge of all first-team affairs.

"Graham has a fantastic track record at this level and above. His knowledge of the division and the players in it will be a crucial factor in our fight to climb the table during the remainder of this season."

Rossi Eames, who became the English Football League's youngest first-team boss when he was named as Barnet's head coach in May, chose to step down from the role when McGhee arrived in November.

Barnet chairman Tony Kleanthous said earlier on Monday: "I interviewed and appointed Mark in the technical advisor role.

"Things moved very quickly with Rossi standing down so I had to ask Mark to make a quick change to our original plan and, at the time, we did not want to overcomplicate the announcement or go into much detail on what was going on behind the scenes."

The struggling Bees have lost their past five consecutive league games, winning just three times in all competitions since September.