Oldham Athletic are delighted to announce that Louis Dean has been appointed as the new Youth Team Manager.
Most recently, Dean occupied the role of Head of Youth Development/Academy at Cray Valley Paper Mills as he completely improved the youth infrastructure at the football club and created a pathway for six youngsters to join professional teams.
A highly-rated individual, he began his coaching career early at Charlton Athletic in 2006 as an Academy Coach, and then, Dean joined Chelsea after being identified and approached by current Aston Villa assistant coach, Michael Beale. He thoroughly enjoyed his two years at Stamford Bridge, learning and developing fundamental characteristics.
Following that, the now 31-year-old thrived whilst working at Welling United in order to help aid the progression of the department as well as being the Wings' reserve team coach for the 2013/14 campaign. Alongside this, he returned to Charlton as Post 16s manager displaying the skill to handle plenty of responsibility during a tight schedule.
In terms of senior football, the former Leyton Orient prospect initially spent time with Corinthian, East Grinstead Town and Thamesmead Town which massively boosted his reputation within the industry as more success followed in his footsteps.
In November 2018, Dean's stint in charge of Welling Town began and he received praise from members higher up the hierarchy in South East London for his conduct and behaviour on the touchline and behind the scenes.
To add to this, he impressively guided the Glentworth Sports Club-based outfit to the Southern Counties East League title in the 2018/19 campaign - implementing an emphasis on improving younger players.
The enthusiastic figure also added to his credentials throughout his tenure as first-team coach at Ashford United finishing second in the Isthmian South East division.
Dean reinforced his delight on his appointment up North and outlined his vision for the Youth Team, saying; “It's been fantastic so far, the staff and the players have been really accommodating. They're working extremely hard, buying into our style of play and our philosophy.
“Ultimately, my main aim is to make the players better, we've already got a really good group at the club, but if we can start feeding through a couple of lads into the first team environment then that's the target." He commented.
"I know that it’s a bit difficult at the moment, but we've got a couple of lads that have been training with the first team and they've been holding their own, so if we can continue to do that, then we're doing our jobs.
“Any opportunities that the fans have to come and support the lads whether that’s an away game or a match at Chapel Road, it'd be really appreciated, and hopefully, they'll come and look at some of our future stars.”
The Club would like to thank Selim Benachour, who has now departed, for his efforts with the Youth Team over the past two years and wish him well in his new role as Assistant Coach for the national team of Tunisia.
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