Bolton Wanderers grab Wigan's Stephen Crainey as new joint assistant manager

WANDERERS have appointed former Scotland international Stephen Crainey as a new member of Ian Evatt’s backroom team.

The 43-year-old joins up with Bolton as a joint-assistant manager having served on Shaun Maloney’s staff at Wigan Athletic last season.

Crainey is a former Blackpool team-mate of Evatt and his goalkeeper coach, Matt Gilks, and also had spells with Celtic, Southampton and Leeds United during a 19-year playing career.

After retiring from playing duties in 2016 after spells with Fleetwood and AFC Fylde, he joined Fleetwood as youth coach in November 2021 and was quickly placed in temporary charge of the club during the second half of the season, eventually helping them avoid relegation to League Two on goal difference.

Crainey then moved to Wigan as a lead professional development phase (Under-21s) coach and was recently listed as the Latics first team coach.

As The Bolton News reported this morning, club chairman Sharon Brittan has undertaken a thorough review of all the club's various departments to see what can be improved to help promotion chances next season.

The appointment of Crainey is understood to be the first of a few tweaks behind the scenes designed to improve life on the training ground, with improvements also being made to the first team pitches and gymnasium this summer.

Current assistant manager Peter Atherton will stay in place, having joined the club alongside Evatt from Barrow in the summer of 2020.

Stephen Crainey celebrates a goal for Blackpool against Burnley in 2012 with Ian Evatt (Image: PA)

Evatt explained the decision to bring in his former Bloomfield Road team-mate: “After some pretty lengthy reviewing of the season, we have a clear plan and idea of how we want to improve things on and off the pitch and this appointment is in addition to what we already have. I think now as a staffing structure we've got all boxes ticked," he said.

“In the review of every season you think about how we can improve, how we get better and what are we missing in terms of our staffing skill set.

“We've had discussions about having a more holistic approach to the staff and the skill set I feel we are missing Stephen, who I have known for a long, long time, can provide.

“He’s an extremely good character, a strong character who knows what it takes to win and will be extremely additive to the rest of the staff, so I think it’s a very important appointment for us.”