Dulwich Hamlet have announced the appointment of Paul Barnes as permanent manager after nearly a month searching for Gavin Rose’s replacement.
A number of candidates were considered for the job including current Weymouth FC manager Bobby Wilkinson who led Hungerford Town to the National League and won the Isthmian League South Central Division One title with Bracknell Town.
However the club have now decided that Paul Barnes, who took interim control of the team after the departure of Rose, will now be given the chance to prove himself on a full-time basis.
A statement from the club said: “We can announce this evening that after an extensive recruitment process, Dulwich Hamlet Football Club has decided to offer the vacant full time managerial position to the current interim manager Paul Barnes.
“We assessed candidates across a wide range of capabilities, values and adherence to the culture being developed here, and Paul has continued to display many of those attributes required.”
During his time as interim manager, Barnes took charge of six games, winning three.
Barnes now takes over from the Hamlet’s longest serving manager in its history, Rose, who had been in charge for 13 years prior to being sacked.
During his time at the club, Rose led the Hamlet in over 550 games afterbeing appointed in August 2009.
Some of Rose’s achievements include winning the Isthmian South title in 2012/13, gaining promotion to the National League South in 2017/18, reaching the final of the Isthmian League Cup Final twice and becoming the first Hamlet coach to win a Manager of the Year award.
In spite of his popularity at the club, many felt Rose’s time at the club had run its course and it was time for someone new to take over.
Barnes comes in with a wealth of experience as he looks to turn around what has been a tough start to the season.
He has previously worked for Chelsea and Millwall before moving into coaching roles in the non-league with the likes of Welling United, Margate, Ashford United, Greenwich Borough, Staines Town and most recently Redhill.
On his appointment, Barnes said “This is an amazing opportunity to be involved at Dulwich Hamlet who have a great pedigree and history.
“I introduced myself to the players during Tuesday’s game with Hemel Hempstead, and am looking forward to working with them, including some that I have had the pleasure of working with before, and hopefully help this club move into a new chapter.
“I love the ethos of the club, and it’s unbelievable atmosphere generated on match days, the support at Champion Hill is incredible, and is easily one of the best fanbases at any tier in non-league football. It has been a busy 24 hours sorting things but I am looking forward to starting.”
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Featured image credit: Rob Avis
