Colchester United to 'actively encourage' external applications in new boss search

Colchester United sporting director Dmitri Halajko has confirmed the League Two club will "actively encourage" applications from external candidates as they look for a new head coach.

The U's decided to sack former boss Wayne Brown on Sunday following a poor start to the season which has seen them lose five of their opening nine games.

Brown was given the job full-time in the summer after he managed to guide them away from relegation trouble last season having been put in interim charge in January.

The U's have tended to appoint from within in recent years, with Brown, Joe Dunne, Tony Humes, John McGreal, Steve Ball and Hayden Mullins having all been promoted from other roles at the club.

However, that trend could come to an end for the next appointment, with Halajko revealing that the club's selection process will be "completely open."

"This selection process will be completely open, and we are actively encouraging applications from outside the club to ensure we find the right person for the job," he said.

Halajko also confirmed that ex-boss Steve Ball will take interim charge of the team while an appointment is made.

Ball himself was sacked as head coach in February 2021, having overseen a run of 13 games without a win.

He then returned to the club as Technical Director, and he will move back into that role when the new head coach arrives.

"While we are in the recruitment process, we felt that the right thing to do was to put a completely different management team in charge for those games that are to be played whilst we conduct our search," Halajko said.

"Therefore, an interim management team led by Steve Ball and assisted by Ross Embleton and Elliott Ward will be put in place as a short-term measure to help the club during this period. 

"Steve has ruled himself out of the process of taking the role past this period and will return to his role as Technical Director when a new head coach is appointed."

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