04 July 2023 , 21:47
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Forest Green Rovers have taken an unprecedented step in English football after appointing Hannah Dingley as their caretaker manager following the departure of Duncan Ferguson.
The Scot leaving could not be considered a surprise. Having taken over in January and charged with guiding the side away from relegation danger, his new team could only muster a solitary league win before the end of the season and their fate was sealed with still four games to play.
But the appointment of his replacement, albeit temporary, could prove a landmark moment. Dingley, who has a UEFA Pro Licence, has been working as the head of academy at the Gloucestershire-based club.
A statement on the official club Twitter account on Tuesday night read: "We can confirm that Hannah Dingley has been named our Caretaker Head Coach. Dingley will take charge of the team for tomorrow night’s friendly at Melksham Town."
It will make Dingley the first ever female to take charge of a men's senior side in any of the country's top four professional leagues. And she's ultimately been proved right, after saying last season: "It will come in sooner than you think," when asked when a woman will finally take charge of a senior men's team.
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"The success that the Lionesses are having, that Emma Hayes is having at Chelsea," she told the BBC. "There are others, really good female coaches out there who I have more than faith in would be more than capable of coaching at a men's level. They're players at the end of the day. It's football at the end of the day, that doesn't change. I don't think it'll be long before you see a female on the touchline."
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Duncan Ferguson left Forest Green Rovers on Tuesday (Nigel Keene/ProSports/REX/Shutterstock)Club owner Dale Vince has long been hailed as innovative during his tenure, with the League Two outfit officially recognised as the world's first vegan football club in 2017. The United Nations have also officially declared them the world's first carbon-neutral football club.
On Tuesday, Vince confirmed the club had parted ways with the former Everton interim boss, as well as his assistant Tony Grant: "It has been a privilege to work with Dunc these last few months and this was a very difficult decision to make," he said. 'I'm grateful to Dunc for joining us in such difficult circumstances and for all of his hard work at the club.
"But I feel this is overall the right decision for everyone and I wish Dunc well in his next coaching role. We are parting as friends. You can't ask for much more than that."