Phil Brown has never quite reached the heights again that he did early on in his managerial career with Hull City.
After guiding the Tigers to promotion via the play-offs from the Championship in 2008, he then kept them up in the top flight.
Brown’s next role as a manager came with Preston, but after a valiant fight he was unable to keep North End in the Championship in 2011. Brown seemed to be the right man to guide North End back up at the first attempt, but a huge turnover in the playing staff didn’t sit easy with many, and a lot of his new signings failed to settle.
Square pegs were being played in round holes, and Brown didn’t make it past the halfway point of that season in League One.
Since then, Brown had success with Southend United winning promotion from League Two, and has also managed Swindon Town and Hyderabad in India, before another spell with Southend. With the latter, he was unable to stop them sliding out of the Football League but with his new job he is faced with the same challenge again.
After Mark Cooper’s departure, Brown has been handed the reins at Barrow until the end of the season. Barrow are currently two places and six points above the League Two drop zone. Cooper left the club shortly after losing to Paul Simpson’s Carlisle United at the weekend.
This is just Barrow’s second season at this level, and will be hoping not to get dragged back into the National League.
They have had quite a managerial merry go round since promotion to this level. Ian Evatt left to join Bolton Wanderers whilst former Blackburn Rovers midfielder David Dunn didn’t last too long as his replacement.
Alongside Phil Brown will be former Preston North End player and coach Neil McDonald. He has worked on the backroom staff at West Ham United, Blackburn Rovers and Swindon Town among others and has also managed Carlisle and Blackpool in the past.
Brown will be glad to be back in work but will hoping to avoid adding another relegation to his CV.