Michael Duff: Swansea City name Barnsley manager as new boss
- Published
Michael Duff led Barnsley to fourth in League One and reached the play-off final last season
Swansea City have named Barnsley's Michael Duff as their new head coach.
The Championship club had lined up the former Northern Ireland and Burnley defender as a successor to Russell Martin, who has joined Southampton.
Duff, who won the League Two title with Cheltenham in 2021, led Barnsley to the League One play-off final last month.
The 45-year-old has signed a three-year contract with Swansea, who have had to pay compensation to the Tykes for his services.
"Michael has a proven track record of galvanising a group of players into a collective unit, and he has consistently outperformed expectations at his previous clubs," said Swansea chairman Andy Coleman.
"Every conversation I had with him only reinforced the view that he is exactly the type of leader we need here at Swansea City.
"He is a proven winner, both as a player and as a manager, and I'm confident he will bring that mentality here.
"I believe in his ability and his belief in the Swansea way, while he also possesses the capability to adapt within games to drive results.
"This is a results-driven business. Our position in the table matters to all of us and we are focused on supporting Michael with everything he needs to succeed."
The club say an update regarding Duff's coaching staff will follow in due course.
Duff had two years to run on the deal he signed at Barnsley after moving to Oakwell from Cheltenham in June 2022.
His Barnsley side finished fourth in the third tier in his one season at the helm, but were beaten by Sheffield Wednesday at Wembley after overcoming Bolton in the play-off semi-finals.
A year earlier Duff had led Cheltenham to 15th in League One, the highest finishing position in the Robins' history.
"I've had seven promotions in my career as a player and manager so I know what an environment should look and smell like," Duff told Swansea's website.
"I want to play good football and I know that there is an expectation of that at this football club, but it's about evolving it, moving it and being a bit more on the front foot and a bit more progressive at times.
"It's about getting the balance of all those things because ultimately it's a winning business. You've got to win."
Duff will be at Swansea's training ground on Friday when the squad left behind by Martin reunite for the start of pre-season training, and will get an immediate chance to get to know his new players when they head to Spain for a training camp on Sunday.
"I'm excited to get going and meet the players, because that's when it'll really kick in when you're on the grass and doing your job," he said.
"There were lots of reasons I wanted to come to Swansea; the step up in level, but also the infrastructure that's already at the football club, and speaking to the owners and the ambition they've got for the club it matches my own ambition.
"Hopefully the supporters are as excited as I am. Hopefully we're going to see some really good football which is a little bit more on the front foot."
Swansea had also identified Chris Davies, Brendan Rodgers' long-time assistant boss, as a contender to take over from Martin.
At one stage Davies, who worked with Rodgers at Swansea, had seemed set for a return to south Wales, but he is instead set to join Ange Postecoglou's coaching staff at Tottenham Hotspur.
Plymouth Argyle boss Steven Schumacher was another of the names Swansea considered during their search for Martin's replacement, while the likes of Shaun Maloney and John Eustace were also linked.
Martin was finally appointed Southampton manager on Wednesday having agreed to take charge at the Saints in May, only for a dispute over compensation - which is still to be settled - to hold up his move to the south coast.
The former Scotland defender spent two years at Swansea, finishing 15th in the Championship in 2021-22 and 10th last season.