Former Barnsley, Manchester City and Preston North End man lands managerial role

A well-travelled frontman in his playing days, Macken spent two years at Oakwell and racked up over 100 appearances.

Since hanging up his boots, he has had spells in charge of non-league clubs Radcliffe, Colne and Witton Albion.

He has now taken the reins at Stalybridge, on the eighth rung of the English football ladder. Alongside Macken in the dugout will be his long-term assistant Steve Atkinson.

Macken said: “I’m honoured and over the moon to be asked to lead this fantastic club. It’s a huge club in a fantastic environment and I’m really looking forward to helping to take us forward.

“You see what the club entails and what it’s about and its history, it’s an attraction to any manager and player and for me personally, it’s a great honour to be here and to be given the opportunity to come and manage the club.

“The club and board’s ambition really matches my own. I want to build on what’s already started here and get the club into the division that we believe it should be in.”

Macken also represented the likes of Manchester City and Preston North End in his playing days.

The club’s chairman Nigel Jones said: “We’re delighted to have secured the services of Jon. We felt it was a great fit for both sides and he shares our ambition as a club to progress

“We went through a very intense process, with some great candidates. We whittled it down to five strong people. They all had good qualities but Jon stood out with his experience and proven success at our level as well as his experience of playing at the top level key.”