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Dave Merrington
English footballer (born 1945) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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David Robert Merrington (born 26 January 1945) is an English former professional footballer, manager and commentator. He served as a caretaker manager at Sunderland in 1978, and Leeds United in 1980. Merrington was manager of Southampton from 1995 until his dismissal in 1996.
Before his career as a coach, Merrington played as a defender, spending the majority of his playing career at Burnley before moving to Bristol City. Merrington later worked as a commentator for BBC Radio Solent. He retired from commentating in 2022.
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Playing career
Merrington played for Burnley, appearing in 98 league games (1 goal), including a spell as captain.[2] Whilst at Burnley, he was blighted continually by serious injuries.[2][3] He later played for Bristol City before retiring and going into coaching.[4]
Coaching career
Merrington was a brief caretaker manager for Sunderland following the departure of Jimmy Adamson in 1978, and in 1980 he again took over from Adamson as caretaker manager (for 1 game only) at Leeds United.[5][6][7]
He became youth coach at Southampton in 1983, before taking over as manager for the 1995–96 season.[8] He was Premiership Manager of the Month in April 1996, his only full season in management.[9] Despite securing Southampton's top flight status on goal difference, he was dismissed on 14 June 1996 and succeeded by Graeme Souness.[10] During the final weeks of the 1995–96 season, he guided Southampton to two crucial wins which played a big part in their survival - they first beat Manchester United (champions that season) 3–1 at The Dell, and then won their penultimate game 1–0 at Bolton Wanderers, a result which confirmed the other side's relegation.[11]
A year later he returned to the club as a coach under next manager Dave Jones but left again three years later after Jones was succeeded by Glenn Hoddle.[6] His next stop was a brief spell working as Walsall's first-team coach alongside manager Colin Lee in 2002, but later resigned for personal reasons.[12]
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Media career
Merrington worked for BBC Radio Solent, commentating on Southampton matches.[13] Merrington retired from commentary at the end of the 2021–22 season.[14][15]
Honours
Manager
Individual
References
External links
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