Apologies for the delay in the website announcement. A technical glitch I'm afraid.

Darlaston Town Football Club are delighted to announce the appointment of Matty Lovatt as our new first team manager.

Lovatt joins the club after a spell in charge of Step 4 Lichfield City earlier this season, Our supporters will perhaps be more familiar with Matty from his 7-year tenure at Dudley Town that preceded it, locking horns with the club on several occasions during that spell.

After cutting his teeth in non-league at Sikh Hunters, Lovatt joined Dudley Town in the summer of 2019, with incremental improvement season on season, initially at Step 6. Play off disappointment (ironically at our expense) in 2021/22 was immediately followed by the league title, earning promotion to Step 5 with 100 points and 101 goals scored.

Consolidation at the new level followed, with consecutive 7th placed finishes before cruelly finishing a point outside the play offs in his final season in charge after a 3 point deduction due to an administrative error. That disappointment was tempered somewhat by a second JW Hunt Cup triumph at Molineux in as many seasons.

On the appointment, Chairman Ant Follows said ‘Having played against Matty and been in the opposite dugout, I’m well aware of his fierce, competitive nature; he has a meticulous eye for detail and leaves no stone unturned in his preparation. Matty brings a tenacious and infectious work ethic which will greatly benefit the team and the club. When the committee met with Matty, it was unanimous that he was the right man to lead the project forward.’

Lovatt said ‘I’m proud and honoured to have been trusted with the role of first team manager of Darlaston Town Football Club, a club steeped in history and traditional Black Country values, values that mirror my own. I’m extremely excited about starting the role and attempting to turn our fortunes around in the short term. Thank you to Ant and the committee for their welcome and help with the transition so far and a big thank you to Swanny and Chris also.’

Lovatt is pictured with Chairman Ant Follows.

Matty will be joined in the dugout by joint assistants Jay Coyne and Ryan McDonagh, along with first team coach Faz Taghavi.

Matty and the Directors invite all supporters old and new to join them on Tuesday 13th October for a meet and greet with the new management team, 6:30pm start