Harry Kewell handed managerial reins at Oldham Athletic

Oldham Athletic have appointed the former Australia international Harry Kewell as their new manager. The League Two club parted ways with Dino Maamria on Friday.

Kewell, who has had jobs at Crawley Town and Notts County since the beginning of his managerial career, arrives at Boundary Park on a one-year contract, with an option to extend.

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“I’m excited about the project and don’t get me wrong it’s going to take time,” said Kewell. “Because the one thing I think this club does need is stability and if we can get that, then we can start to grow things.” He is the seventh manager for the Latics since Abdallah Lemsagam became owner in 2018.

Oldham finished 19th in League Two last season under Maamria, who lasted 10 months in the job.

Kewell added: “We’ve got to get back to the basics. We’re having a ‘clean slate’ here now and I think the fans, myself, the owner, everybody wants to start seeing this club progress because we all believe that’s there’s a big potential.”

The former Stevenage manager Maamria became Oldham’s fifth in 12 months when he replaced Laurent Banide last September.

“Dino Maamria has today departed the club from his role as a head coach of Oldham Athletic, together with his team,” a club statement said late on Friday night. “We would like to place our appreciation on record to Dino for his hard work and dedication. We also wish Dino all the best for his future endeavours.”

Frankie Bunn, Pete Wild, Paul Scholes and Banide – a former Monaco manager – all managed Oldham in the 12 months preceding Maamria’s appointment.