Luke Williams: Notts County appoint former Swindon Town manager as head coach
- Published
Luke Williams spent three years working as Brighton Under-21s boss at the start of his managerial career
Notts County have appointed former Swindon Town manager Luke Williams as head coach.
Williams, 41, succeeds Ian Burchnall, who left Notts in May to take charge of League One side Forest Green Rovers.
He most recently worked as Swansea assistant manager, leaving his job in Wales in February for personal reasons.
"All the building blocks are here, we just need to go to work and try to get the club up the divisions," Williams told BBC Radio Nottingham.
"It feels like this is a club on the push, a surge, and I wanted to be part of that."
A statement from County said Williams "fully understands the pressure and expectation that comes with this role".
Williams will be the third manager to try to get Notts County back to League Two, after the club were relegated from the English Football League for the first time in their history in 2019.
The Magpies have reached the National League play-offs in each of their three seasons in non-league football, with Grimsby Town dramatically ending County's latest promotion bid on the way to sealing their immediate return to the EFL.
Former Exeter, Brighton and Swindon midfielder Ryan Harley has been named Williams' assistant.
"Between them they have the right management skills and experience of all EFL divisions, as well as the National League, which we believe will help us achieve our goal of promotion and getting back to where we feel we belong," a statement from the club said.
Williams' stint as Swindon manager ended following the club's relegation to League Two in 2017 at the end of his first full season in charge.
A year earlier he had impressed enough as caretaker boss of the Robins to earn a five-year contract.
After leaving the Wiltshire club he was appointed head coach of Bristol City Under-23s, where he stayed for two years before taking the job as Russell Martin's assistant at MK Dons.
He followed Martin to Swansea in August 2021, only to leave six months later.
'It's about allowing the story to tell the director': Did you know these nine things about Armando Iannucci?
Troy Deeney's story: Learn about his complicated relationship with his father, who was always on the edge of the law
