David Robert Merrington (born 26 January 1945) is an English former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

, manager and commentator. He served as a caretaker manager at

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

in 1978, and

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

in 1980. Merrington was manager of

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

from 1995 until his dismissal in 1996. Before his career as a coach, Merrington played as a defender, spending the majority of his playing career at

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

before moving to

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

. Merrington later worked as a commentator for

BBC Radio Solent BBC Radio Solent is the BBC's local radio station serving Hampshire, Dorset and the Isle of Wight, broadcasting on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on Havelock Road in Southampton. According to RAJAR, the station has a w ...

. He retired from commentating in 2022.

Playing career

Merrington played for

, appearing in 98 league games (1 goal), including a spell as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. Whilst at Burnley, he was blighted continually by serious injuries. He later played for

before retiring and going into coaching.

Coaching career

Merrington was a brief caretaker manager for

following the departure of Jimmy Adamson in 1978, and in 1980 he again took over from Adamson as caretaker manager (for 1 game only) at

. He became youth coach at

in 1983, before taking over as manager for the 1995–96 season. He was Premiership Manager of the Month in April 1996, his only full season in management. Despite securing Southampton's top flight status on goal difference, he was dismissed on 14 June 1996 and succeeded by

Graeme Souness Graeme James Souness (; born 6 May 1953) is a Scottish former professional football player, manager and television pundit. A midfielder, Souness achieved his greatest period of success as an integral part of the Liverpool team of the late 19 ...

. During the final weeks of the 1995–96 season, he guided Southampton to two crucial wins which played a big part in their survival - they first beat

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

(champions that season) 3–1 at The Dell, and then won their penultimate game 1–0 at

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

, a result which confirmed the other side's relegation. A year later he returned to the club as a coach under next manager Dave Jones but left again three years later after Jones was succeeded by

Glenn Hoddle Glenn Hoddle (born 27 October 1957) is an English former football player and manager. He currently works as a television pundit and commentator for ITV Sport and TNT Sports. He played as a midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur, Monaco, Chelsea and ...

. His next stop was a brief spell working as

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

's first-team coach alongside manager

Colin Lee Colin Lee (born 12 June 1956) is an English football manager and former footballer. He is currently head of football at South Dartmoor Community College in Ashburton, Devon along with Chris Beard. Playing career Lee began his football career w ...

in 2002, but later resigned for personal reasons.

Media career

Merrington worked for

, commentating on

matches. Merrington retired from commentary at the end of the 2021–22 season.

Honours

Manager

Individual *

Premier League Manager of the Month The Premier League Manager of the Month is an association football award that recognises the best adjudged Premier League manager each month of the season. The winner is chosen by a combination of an online public vote, which contributes to ...

: April 1996

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Merrington, David Living people 1945 births English men's footballers Footballers from Newcastle upon Tyne Men's association football central defenders English Football League players Burnley F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players English football managers Premier League managers Sunderland A.F.C. managers Southampton F.C. managers Walsall F.C. non-playing staff English Football League managers Burnley F.C. non-playing staff Leeds United F.C. managers English association football commentators