Sheffield Wednesday reunite James Beattie and Garry Monk in coaching revamp

Monk took over as manager in September but unusually was unable to make any changes to the Hillsborough coaching staff working with the personnel he inherited from predecessor Steve Bruce.

Beattie, his assistant at Swansea City, Leeds United, Middlesbrough and Birmingham, was put on gardening leave by the Blues after Monk’s departure, and with the Owls apparently unwilling to pay compensation, he remained there for the whole of last season.“James still had two years left of his contract,” explained Lee Bullen, one of Monk’s assistants, in an interview this summer.

“Wednesday weren’t willing to pay compensation and Birmingham weren’t willing to release the lad so he’s been twiddling his thumbs. He’s still getting paid by Birmingham, which is mad.

“An opportunity could have come up to let the lad go, Birmingham would have saved money and the lad could have been involved.

“But at the moment it’s Garry, myself, Neil Thompson and Nicky Weaver (on the coaching staff).

“We’ve got a good group of lads that work together, but I wouldn’t be surprised if at some point James Beattie joined the group.”

That has now happened, with goalkeeping coach Flahavan, a former team-mate of Monk’s at Southampton, also moving to the Steel City as soon as they were released by new Birmingham manager Aitor Kranka.

Flahavan also served on Monk’s backroom team at Leeds and Middlesbrough.

Hughes was under-23s coach at Sheffield United until being replaced by former Barnsley and Leeds United manager Paul Heckingbottom this summer.

The 42-year-old former Leeds United player also coached at Huddersfield Town and Rotherham United, amongst others.

His job title at Hillsborough is first-team coach.

Editor’s note: first and foremost - and rarely have I written down these words with more sincerity - I hope this finds you well.

Almost certainly you are here because you value the quality and the integrity of the journalism produced by The Yorkshire Post’s journalists - almost all of which live alongside you in Yorkshire, spending the wages they earn with Yorkshire businesses - who last year took this title to the industry watchdog’s Most Trusted Newspaper in Britain accolade.

And that is why I must make an urgent request of you: as advertising revenue declines, your support becomes evermore crucial to the maintenance of the journalistic standards expected of The Yorkshire Post. If you can, safely, please buy a paper or take up a subscription. We want to continue to make you proud of Yorkshire’s National Newspaper but we are going to need your help.

Postal subscription copies can be ordered by calling 0330 4030066 or by emailing [email protected]. Vouchers, to be exchanged at retail sales outlets - our newsagents need you, too - can be subscribed to by contacting subscriptions on 0330 1235950 or by visiting www.localsubsplus.co.uk where you should select The Yorkshire Post from the list of titles available.

If you want to help right now, download our tablet app from the App / Play Stores. Every contribution you make helps to provide this county with the best regional journalism in the country.

Sincerely. Thank you.

James Mitchinson

Editor