Former Everton defender gets managerial role after Bristol City decision made

Former Everton defender Craig Short will take over as the interim head coach of League One side Oxford United.

Short will replace the outgoing Liam Manning who is set to take over at Bristol City in the Championship following their sacking of Nigel Pearson after two and a half years in charge, with the Robins 15th in the Championship. The 55-year-old will be supported by former player and current Academy Coach Chris Hackett as he takes on the role. Chairman Grant Ferguson said, “We reluctantly gave Bristol City permission to speak with Liam after he indicated he wanted to discuss their vacant managerial position with them. 

“The club did everything it could to keep him here, but we move on and the project continues. Our focus now is to quickly appoint Liam's successor and support Craig as interim Head Coach.”

Former Everton manager Frank Lampard was linked with the vacant Bristol City role, but 38-year-old Manning, who has had experience at West Ham United U23's Lommel SK, Milton Keynes Dons and Oxford, is ready to take the step up to the Championship.

For Short, the managerial role will be his first since 2010 when he spent just four months at Notts County. Before that, he had ended his playing career as a player/coach at Hungarian side Ferencvaros. He was signed on to be their manager in November 2009 but had to leave as he didn't possess the necessary UEFA Pro License to manage in the Hungarian top division. In terms of his time at Oxford, he was appointed as assistant manager in 2020 and following the departure of Karl Robinson in February 2023, he was previously appointed caretaker manager for two matches.

Oxford United currently sit second in League One and trail leaders Portsmouth by three points after 15 games. A former centre-back in his playing days, he spent four years at Goodison Park from 1995-1999, amassing 107 appearances, scoring four times.