Uxbridge Town AFC announced today, at a press conference, that MacCallum Barry would be the team's first manager. The move was a surprise given the 49 year old's big name prestige and previous coaching experience. Barry became only the second manager of Stratford United, after previously serving as an assistant there under the legendary 22-time AFPL champion Sherburne Hughes. As manager, he won 5 league championships in 7 seasons before resigning 3 years ago. For the last two seasons Barry has worked as a football pundit on Sky Sports, and while there has been speculation about his return to managing a club, but no team has convinced him to return until Uxbridge Town today.
Club President Eadburt Clement said the decision to hire Barry was an incredibly easy one. "Obviously when we got in the room, MacCallum Barry was the first name that everyone thought of" said Clement. "Our goal was to instill a championship culture into Uxbridge, and there may be no better person in the world of managing football right now to do that. We had to make the pitch a few times before we were able to come to an agreement, and I am glad we did."
For his part, Barry was excited to be in charge at a football club again, and noted that Wellington Group's investment was a big part of his decision. "I am really happy to be here today, and cannot wait to be back on the sidelines" said Barry. "I have had a handful of offers to come manage clubs, but it was sitting down with Mr. Clement and Mr. Wellington and everyone involved at this club that really convinced me. My bar is very high - I want to win championships. That is my goal and my expectation. And I fully believe that Uxbridge has the resources available and the organizational infrastructure in place to get to that high bar within a few seasons."
While there is early speculation as to who will be on the coaching staff alongide MacCallum Barry, Uxbridge Town is expected to hold another press conference in the near future to make that announcement.
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