County boost backroom team with ex-Swansea coach as hunt for new boss continues

NEWPORT County AFC are still hunting for a new boss but they have bolstered their backroom staff with the appointment of former Swansea coach Nelson Jardim.

The 45-year-old from Portugal has been given the title of lead coach and will work alongside current first-team coach Dafydd Williams and goalkeeping coach Jim Hollman.

Owner Huw Jenkins is searching for a head coach to be the Exiles' boss after the departure of manager Graham Coughlan and his assistant Joe Dunne.

Jardim has already met the new-look squad and the rest of the staff after they returned for pre-season training to build towards the League Two opener at Cheltenham on August 10.

The new coach has been reunited with chairman Huw Jenkins after a spell with Swansea City under Paulo Sousa in 2009.

Now Jardim will get to work with the Exiles and start the groundwork to allow the new boss to hit the ground running.

OWNER: Huw Jenkins has brought Nelson Jardim onto the Newport County coaching staff (Image: Huw Evans Agency)

“I’m really looking forward to the challenge,” said Jardim. “I’ve known the chairman for close on 14 years at Swansea and I know exactly what he is looking for.

“I know his philosophy for coaching, playing and what he expects from everyone at the club, on and off the pitch, in terms of culture.

“The project really excites me. It’s the chance to build something new at the football club. It’s a fresh start for everyone.”

Jardim followed Sousa to Leicester City from the Swans in 2010 before becoming assistant manager at Primeira Liga side Nacional in his homeland.

He returned to Swansea in 2017 as a lead academy coach and then first team coach under Francesco Guidolin, Paul Clement and Carlos Carvalhal.

Aitor Karanka appointed him as part of Birmingham’s coaching team in 2020 and most recently he was manager of Maritimo B in Portugal.

Now Jardim will be charged with helping a youthful County squad full of up-and-coming talent develop.

The Exiles announced their eighth summer signing on Tuesday morning in former Sunderland winger Michael Spellman.

He followed goalkeeper Jacob Carney, right-back Joe Thomas, centre-back Ciaran Brennan, defender/midfielder Matt Baker, left-back Anthony Glennon, midfielder Kai Whitmore and attacker Oliver Greaves in signing two-year deals at Rodney Parade.

Glennon is the oldest of the new signings at the grand age of 24.

Jardim & Co are building towards Cheltenham and play the first of six friendlies a week on Saturday with the usual fixture at Undy AFC of Ardal SE.

That is followed by tune-ups on the road at Pontypridd, Barry Town United, Bristol City (behind closed doors), Kidderminster and Hereford.