'He is' - Newcastle United reach agreement as manager confirms talks after Leicester City move

The position has been vacant since July after Ben Dawson left to join Steve Cooper’s backroom team at Leicester City, leaving Jack Ross and Neil Winskill to take charge on a interim basis.

Newcastle’s second string are next in Premier League 2 action on Friday evening against Blackburn Rovers at Whitley Park - and a new man could be in the dugout.

As per sources north of the border, the Magpies are set to confirm the arrival of St Mirren assistant manager Diarmuid O'Carroll after agreeing a compensation package over the weekend. O'Carroll was absent for St Mirren’s 2-1 win over Hearts on Saturday.

“He is speaking to someone else at an Under-21 position,” said manager Stephen Robinson. “Obviously, we’ve shown today that we’ve got that staff in place to step up if that should happen

“(First-team coach) Brian (Kerr) has come in and done great for me. Him and Jamie Langfield were a big part of the set-play. Credit to both of them, they’ve worked on the set-plays all week.”

The 37-year-old, who was on the books at Celtic as a kid before representing the Republic of Ireland at under-21s level, has also coached at Motherwell and Morecambe with Robinson. He also worked as part of Michael O’Neill’s backroom team at Northern Ireland during the qualifying campaign for Euro 2024.

Newcastle under-21s have endured a mixed start to the season, claiming four points from four games in the league. In the EFL Trophy, they beat League Two side Bradford City on penalties after drawing 2-2 in normal time.