A Rugby League legend will be in charge of Newcastle Thunder when they face Workington Town on Sunday.
Director of rugby Denis Betts will take over as interim coach following the resignation yesterday of head coach Eamon O Carroll.
Betts, capped 32 times for Great Britain, and who had a long spell as coach of Widnes Vikings, will be assisted by Michael Heap.
The 35-year-old O’Carroll had joined Newcastle in November 2020 ahead of its return to rugby league’s second-tier competition for the first time since 2009.
Making the move to Kingston Park following a two-year spell as an assistant coach at Catalan Dragons, O’Carroll renewed ties with Betts, who he started his coaching with at Widnes Vikings after retiring from playing through injury.
During his tenure at Kingston Park, O’Carroll successfully preserved the club’s Championship status following its initial elevation by application from Betfred League 1 before overseeing the assembling of its first full-time squad for over a decade.
The club also achieved several firsts under his stewardship, with a first-ever away win over Dewsbury Rams in 2021 as well as a first-ever win over London Broncos back in May this year.
O’Carroll has stepped down with immediate effect and is set to take up a new role with a Super League side in the near future.
Newcastle Thunder chairman Keith Christie said: “I’d like to thank Eamon for his efforts with us over the last 18 months. He is a good person, and I am genuinely sad to see him leave the club.
“He has worked tirelessly towards the betterment of the club and, along with Denis, has laid some firm foundations that we will now build on going forward.”
Betts said: “Eamon joined us at an exciting time for the club as we prepared for its return to the Championship, and he has been a driving force in making sure we have progressed during his time with us.
“He has created a positive training environment where players and staff are able to thrive and feel welcome and has moved the club forward from when he joined us.
“I am of course disappointed that he has decided to leave but understand the reasons and wish him nothing but the very best for the future.”
O’Carroll said: “It has been a real privilege to be the head coach of a club and to see the change from the first day that I arrived to where the club is now.
“I think we have built something special, and the exciting thing is that the club are looking to add more quality people as well. I’m looking forward to taking a step back now, watching as a fan and seeing the club grow and develop because I know it will.
“Keeping us up was a real highlight because it was such a difficult task and then to be able to go from part-time to full-time has been great. The amount of work that went into that and the number of new players and staff that we had to bring in was testament to the club’s dedication to achieving its goals.
“The club knows the areas we need to work on and has been building on them since we assembled the squad. We knew it wasn’t going to be an overnight job, but I know that the club will continue to progress and will keep the team moving forward. I’m really looking forward to watching that.”
Newcastle will face Workington on the back of four straight defeats, although with ten points in the bag and fifth bottom, they are not starting to look over their shoulders just yet.
Town are bottom with just two points but this is one game that coach Chris Thorman will have targeted as “definitely winnable.”
