Newcastle Under-23 head coach Neil Redfearn has resigned from his role due to problems building a working relationship with his assistant Liam Bramley, claims the Daily Star.
The report claims “disillusioned” Redfearn sent his resignation letter to the club, in which he allegedly wrote his position was “untenable” and there were “irreconcilable differences” at non first team level.
The report alleges Bramley was appointed against the wishes of the Under-23 head coach, with the assistant said to be a close friend of Ben Dawson, who oversees all coaching outside the first team set-up.
It is a surprise move, and most fans will not have been aware of any problems at Under-23 level.
Redfearn – along with Dawson – took on the caretaker role after Rafa Benitez left the club, and the pair took charge of the first game of the trip to China during pre-season.
The report also claims Redfearn was highly regarded by the Newcastle hierarchy, and had been considered for a senior role in the summer shake-up.
Redfearn was starting to turn things around after poor start
His season got off to a very poor start, with the Newcastle second-string side struggling to get results, but they recently turned around their Premier League 2 form, winning three and drawing one of their last four games – including a vital win against rivals Sunderland – before going down 3-2 at Aston Villa on Monday night.
The Under-21 side – also overseen by Redfearn – were unable to emulate their EFL Trophy achievements of last season too, with them losing both of their opening games to Macclesfield and Shrewsbury.
It means they sit bottom of the group and are not going to progress from the group stages, regardless of the result against Port Vale this month.
Unless Lee Charnley intervenes and manages to get Redfearn to change his mind, Newcastle will be looking for another coach to take-over.
It must be stressed, the club have refrained from comment on the situation at the time of writing this article.
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