Ian Baraclough

Ian Baraclough is manager of the Northern Ireland national team having stepped up from coaching the under-21s. He previously managed at Motherwell and prior to that, Sligo Rovers, where he was considered the club's most successful manager. He entered his first spell in football management with Scunthorpe United on September 24, 2010. His appointment followed a brief period in caretaker charge of The Iron after Nigel Adkins' departure to Southampton. His first match was a success with a 4-0 away win at Sheffield United. Baraclough had been with Scunthorpe United since 2004 signing as a player and enjoyed success winning promotion from League 2. He was also part of the team who were then promoted to the Championship in 2007. He later joined the backroom staff at Glanford Park under Nigel Adkins. It was when Adkins was appointed Scunthorpe manager in November 2006, when Baraclough was made first-team coach. From the 2008/2009 season, he retired from the game to concentrate on his coaching career. In total, Baraclough made 124 League starts for The Iron and 9 as a substitute, scoring 7 goals. He remained with the club until March 2011 before he later joined Sligo. Ian has already enjoyed great success in the role as on October 13th 2012, he led Sligo to their first Airtricity League title in 35 years. Later in 2013, he guided Sligo Rovers to the FAI Ford Cup for the third time in four years with victory at the Aviva Stadium. In addition to Scunthorpe, Ian made over 500 career appearances for Sheffield Wednesday, Stoke, West Brom, Leicester, Leeds, Coventry and Mansfield. He has also had a spell as assistant manager at Oldham Athletic.