With the exception of Sammy Lambert who unfortunately will be away, the other members of Mick's management team look forward to meeting you and answering any questions you may have about next season and the direction in which they would like to take the club

Mick O’Connell Manager

Mick joins after a magnificent spell at Harrogate Railway where in the last two seasons he has achieved play off positions but narrowly missed out on promotion on both occasions.
He started his football career in 1999 when he left his home in County Kildare for a scholarship with Nottingham Forest and then onto Celtic where he learned the importance of a structured environment, a philosophy he introduced to Railway.
At the age of just sixteen, football made way for many years in the saddle and flat racing where he won almost five hundred races until a horrendous back injury prevented him from carrying on.
After 30 months recovering Mick returned to football and then inherited the Managers job at Railway in 2019 just before Covid brought everything to a standstill. It was a time when avoiding another relegation was the order of the day but with Josh Walsh at his side, he turned things completely around once football returned to normality.

Josh Walsh Assistant Manager

Leeds born Josh Walsh, will combine the job at the Brewers with his full-time position at Harrogate Town as Youth Development Phase Lead . Josh has a UEFA B qualification.
He coached the under 19’s at Knaresborough when he was just that age himself, and from there spent a couple of years at Yorkshire Amateurs. Dave Riley, who had just started the PDC at Harrogate Town then asked Josh to help and that led to him taking on the under 17’s. He was also the assistant to the under 23’s and under 21’s before becoming coach of the under 19’s college squad.
He met Mick O’Connell when his under 17’s played a friendly against Darlington’s under 16’s and the pair got on with one another immediately sharing similar views on how football should be played. When Mick took over the management of Railway, he offered Josh the Assistant manager role and they have never looked back.

Sammy Lambert Head of Player Medical

Sammy, a lifelong football enthusiast, joined Railway in time for the 2021/22 campaign. She qualified as an advanced podiatrist in 2007 since when she has achieved a wealth of qualifications including a master’s degree in advanced healthcare leadership, a diploma in clinical podiatric biomechanics, a muscle energy and technique certificate and the FA Emergency Medical Certificate Level 2 which centres on the prevention of on field injuries.
Her responsibility is to ensure that the players are medically the fittest they can be, not only physically but nutritionally as well, with advice tailored individually to each player – ensuring they are in tip-top shape and injury rehabilitation time is kept to a minimum.
Sammy is always on hand to assist in an emergency.

Paul Clayton First Team Coach

After helping Harrogate Railway the season before last, when they just failed in the playoff final with North Ferriby, Paul re-joins Mick O’Connell after a year out of the game. He will be remembered by Taddy fans when he was called into help Manager Biller Miller in the promotion season of 2015/16.
Paul holds a UEFA A Licence. He coached the under 15/16’s at Bradford City for five years before three seasons as Assistant manager at Thackley where, with Manager Chris Reape, he turned the club around and into a strong NCEL Premier Division side, despite low resources.
He then took the Assistant Manager role at Knaresborough Town for four seasons which included the promotion campaign in 2017–18 to Northern Counties East League Premier

Ryan Smith Strength and Conditioning Coach

Ryan joins the Brewers having previously worked with Mick and Josh at Harrogate Railway, and will be responsible for the physical preparation of the players. Ryan graduated from Leeds Trinity University in 2016 with a BSc in Sport and Exercise science, and also holds the UEFA B coaching licence.
He currently coaches at Harrogate Town’s player development centre, and has previously worked on behalf of several Premier League and EFL clubs, administering and delivering benchmark fitness testing and sport science programmes.