x

Wright Set to Return as U21s Assistant - Ipswich Town News

Former Blues defender David Wright is set to rejoin the club as assistant U21s manager.

Wright, whose appointment is not yet confirmed, recently left the MK Dons, where he had been assistant first-team coach, following manager Liam Manning’s sacking.

The 42-year-old was a player with the Blues between 2006 and 2010 before being released by Roy Keane, having previously been with Crewe and Wigan.

He returned to the club as an academy coach in the summer of 2013 while playing for Colchester United, working with the U14s, U15s and U16s, following spells at Crystal Palace and on loan at Gillingham.

Wright ended his playing career with the U’s to concentrate on his coaching career in November 2014 but in June 2015 he returned to the North Essex club to join their staff as U21s coach and also to become manager of non-league Maldon & Tiptree as part of a link-up between the clubs.

In December 2015 he was named assistant to manager Kevin Keen and was caretaker-manager for one match following the former West Ham man’s departure in April 2016.

John McGreal, who Wright will be working alongside with Town’s U21s, was subsequently named Colchester’s new manager and the former full-back became U18s coach.

Wright moved on to Norwich City in November 2016, initially coaching the Canaries' U18s before taking charge of their U23s in 2019, replacing Matt Gill, who had joined the Blues as a member of Paul Lambert’s staff.

He left Norwich to join Manning and fellow former Blues Chris Hogg and Lewis Price at MK in August 2021.

While at Carrow Road, Wright worked alongside the Blues’ new academy manager Dean Wright, who joined Town from Norwich in the summer along with other former academy employees at the Norfolk club including new head of recruitment Alex Kaufman.

Speaking to TWTD earlier this month, Dean Wright said Town have been going through a recruitment process looking for staff to work alongside McGreal - Kieron Dyer having stood down in March and Terry Butcher having departed the previous summer - and also U18s coach Sam Darlow among other positions.

"We’re going through a recruitment process at the moment. We've had a number of jobs advertised over the last few weeks and we’re just going through the recruitment process now,” he said.

"We want another 18s coach, another 21s coach just to be able to contribute to the type of programme that we want to deliver.

"I’m not a massive one for leads and assistants and all that sort of stuff, what I want is a team of people that just work together, that are passionate about the players and developing players, not so much teams.

"I think if you end up with leads and assistants or managers and assistants, you end up with people that get fixated on teams. I don’t want that, what I want is a smaller group of people where we all just work together, we help out with whatever’s going on.”

What to read next:

Hutchinson on Target as England U21s Win Euros
Town forward Omari Hutchinson scored as England’s U21s beat Germany 3-2 after extra-time to retain the European U21 Championship in Bratislava, Slovakia.
Ex-Blues Forward Morris Suffers Third ACL Injury
Former Blues forward Ben Morris, now with USL Championship side Detroit City, has suffered the third ACL injury of his career.
Assistant Keeper Coach Martin Leaves Town
Assistant goalkeeper coach David Martin has revealed he is leaving the club after a year.
Hutchinson Aiming to Become Third Town Player to Win U21 Euros With England
Forward Omari Hutchinson will be aiming to become the third Town player to win the European U21 Championship with Town when he and his teammates face Germany in the final in Bratislava, Slovakia this evening (KO 8pm, Channel 4).
New John Wark Book Now Available For Pre-Order
He’s Here, He’s There, the book celebrating the career of Blues legend John Wark is now available for pre-order.
Ashton: We Have to Look at Recruiting a Different Type of Player
Chairman and CEO Mark Ashton says the Blues will be looking at recruiting a different type of player with the physical attributes required to compete in the Premier League.
Tuanzebe: Memorable Two Years, Thank You
Exiting Town defender Axel Tuanzebe has thanked staff and fans for a memorable two years at the club after signing for Premier League new boys Burnley yesterday.
Former Blues Loanee Andrews Confirmed as Brentford Boss
Brentford have confirmed the appointment of former Blues loanee Keith Andrews as their new head coach.
Besiktas Targeting Cajuste
Turkish side Besiktas are targeting former Blues loanee Jens Cajuste, TWTD understands.
Townsend: Dara Deal Shows Town's Intent
Blues full-back Conor Townsend says his close friend Dara O’Shea signing a new contract which runs to the summer of 2030 shows Town’s intent ahead of the new season.