Dylan Kerr (born 14 January 1967) is a Maltese-born English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

manager and former professional player who was most recently the head coach at South African Premier Division club Marumo Gallants. He is working as a coach for Soccer Stars United in the USA.

Playing career

Leeds United

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

, Kerr began his playing career with

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

. After gaining playing experience in South Africa with

Arcadia Shepherds Arcadia Shepherds are a South African association football club based in Arcadia, Pretoria. It is affiliated with the Football Association of Pretoria (FAP). History The club was founded in 1903, and was briefly renamed ''Arcadia United'' in t ...

, he returned to the UK and joined

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 1989. He made a number of appearances in the Leeds United first team as they won the Division 2 and Division 1 titles.

Reading

Kerr joined

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

in the summer of 1993 and won the player of the season award in his first season, as Reading won the Division 2 title. He was part of the Reading side that finished second in Division 1 the following season but missed out on automatic promotion to the Premier League, as the division was being restructured. Reading reached the 1995 Division 1 play-off final, but Kerr was not included in the match day squad. Reading lost 4-3 after extra-time against

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 ...

Kilmarnock and Hamilton Academical

Kerr left Reading in 1996 to join

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...

and won the 1996-97 Scottish Cup with them. After a spell with Slough Town, he signed for

Hamilton Academical Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, who currently compete in . They were established in 1874 from the school football team at Hamilto ...

in January 2001 and won the SFL Division 3 title.

Greenock Morton

After a brief spell with

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third level of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

, Kerr returned to Scotland and spent the 2001–02 season at

Greenock Morton Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish professional football club, which plays in the . The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest Scottish clubs. Morton was renamed Greenock Morton in 1994 to celebr ...

Return to Hamilton Academical

Kerr had spells with Harrogate Town and

Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

before returning to Hamilton Academical in 2003. He finished his playing career with Kilwinning Rangers.

Coaching and management career

Kerr has won two league titles and five cup competitions since 2014 as a head coach in Vietnam, Tanzania, Kenya and South Africa and has helped four

South African Premier Division The South African Premiership, also known as the Betway Premiership for sponsorship reasons, and commonly referred to as the PSL after its governing body, is a professional soccer league in South Africa and the highest level of the South Afric ...

clubs avoid relegation after taking charge with the club in danger of being relegated. He guided Marumo Gallants to the

2022–23 CAF Confederation Cup The 2022–23 CAF Confederation Cup (officially the 2022–23 TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 20th edition of Africa's secondary club football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) ...

semi-finals.

Introduction to coaching

After retiring as a player, Kerr coached in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

, then returned to Scotland and worked as

Argyll and Bute Argyll and Bute (; , ) is one of 32 unitary authority, unitary council areas of Scotland, council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod ...

Council's Football Development Officer between 2005 and 2009. Kerr also worked for the Football Associations of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland and qualified for various UEFA badges.

Coaching roles in South Africa and Vietnam

In September 2009, Kerr joined South African club

Mpumalanga Black Aces Black Aces was a South African football club that played in the Premier Soccer League. Aces usually played their home games in the Mpumalanga province but were based and trained in Johannesburg. History The original club was founded in 1937 by ...

as assistant manager. In 2011, he was appointed as academy director and assistant coach at Khatoco in

V.League 1 The V.League 1 (), also called LPBank V.League 1 for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional football league in Vietnam, controlled by the Vietnam Professional Football Joint Stock Company (VPF). It is contested by 14 clubs who play each ...

, the top division in Vietnam. Kerr followed the franchise when it was sold to

Hải Phòng Haiphong or Hai Phong (, ) is the third-largest city in Vietnam and is the principal port city of the Red River Delta. The municipality has an area of , consisting of 8 List of urban districts of Vietnam, urban districts, 6 Huyện, rural distri ...

. He assisted the head coach and was head of development for the younger players. In 2012 Kerr was involved with the Vietnamese national team for the

AFF Championship The ASEAN Championship (formerly known as the AFF Championship or AFF Cup), currently known as the ASEAN Hyundai Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the biennial football tournament organized by the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) for men's natio ...

, assisting the technical bench and heading the fitness programme.

Hải Phòng

In 2013 Kerr became head coach of Hải Phòng, leading them to success in the Vietnam National Cup in his first season.

Burton Albion, Simba and return to UK

In 2015, Kerr was

Burton Albion Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club moved its home g ...

Academy's Under-18s head coach, before joining

Tanzanian Premier League The Tanzania Mainland Premier League () is a top-level Tanzania, Tanzanian professional association football, football league, governed by the Tanzania Premier league Board, TPLB under Tanzania Football Federation. History The league was first or ...

club

Simba Simba is a fictional character in Walt Disney Animation Studios, Disney's ''The Lion King (franchise), The Lion King ''franchise. First appearing as a cub in ''The Lion King'' (1994), the character flees his homeland when his father, Mufasa, is ...

as head coach. He guided the team into the top three in the league. In 2016, he returned to the UK and was appointed as the Under-18s academy coach at Chesterfield.

Gor Mahia

In July 2017, Kerr was confirmed as head coach of

Gor Mahia Gor Mahia Football Club (), commonly known as is a professional football club based in Nairobi, Kenya. They have won the Kenyan Premier League a record 21 times, and have also won the FKF President's Cup a record 11 times. It is the first and ...

. He won the

Kenyan Premier League The Kenyan Premier League (KPL), officially known as the FKF Premier League, is a professional league for men's football clubs in Kenya. Standing at the top of the Kenyan football league system, the league was formed in 1963 under the Kenya Foo ...

manager of the month award in September 2017 on his way to winning the league title in his first season. He won the Kenyan Premier League coach of the month award again in June 2018. Kerr completed a trophy treble in 2018, winning the

Kenyan Super Cup The Kenyan Super Cup is a Kenyan football (soccer), football championship contested by the winners of the Kenyan Premier League and the FKF President's Cup. Having been formed in 2009, it is the Kenyan equivalent to the FA Community Shield of Eng ...

and SportPesa Super Cup, as well as securing qualification for the

2018 CAF Confederation Cup The 2018 CAF Confederation Cup (officially the 2018 Total CAF Confederation Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 15th edition of Africa's secondary club association football, football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football ...

group stages.

Black Leopards

In November 2018, Kerr was appointed as manager of

Black Leopards Black Leopards FC is a South African professional association football, football club based in Thohoyandou, Vhembe, Vhembe Region, Limpopo, that plays in the National First Division. History The club was founded in 1983 by business people in ...

in the

. He won the coach of the month award in January 2019, becoming the first Leopards coach in 10 years to win the accolade, and helped Leopards avoid relegation.

Baroka

In January 2020, Kerr was appointed as the head coach of Baroka. Kerr kept Baroka in the South African Premier Division, but Baroka suspended him in November 2020 for what the club described as 'undermining the chairman and owner in a post-match press conference'. With three years remaining on his contract, Kerr decided to take legal action for unfair dismissal and won his case.

Black Leopards return and cup success with TTM

He returned to Black Leopards in November 2020, then was appointed head coach at Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila in February 2021 and won the

Nedbank Cup The Nedbank Cup is the current name of South Africa's Premier Soccer League, premier club association football, soccer knockout tournament. While many formats have been used over the years, the tournament has always been based on the idea of gi ...

during his time in charge.

Moroka Swallows and Warriors cup success

In November 2021, Kerr was appointed as the head coach of

Moroka Swallows Moroka Swallows Football Club (often referred to as Swallows or The Birds) is a South African professional football club based in Soweto, Johannesburg, in the Gauteng province. Founded in 1947, Swallows are one of the original two Soweto clubs ...

with Swallows in the South African Premier Division relegation zone. He guided Swallows to safety via the play-offs, but his contract was not renewed and he left the club in September 2022. During his time as Swallows manager, Kerr was appointed as manager of the Warriors side for the DStv Compact Cup, a mid-season competition featuring players from PSL teams representing different regions in South Africa. Warriors lifted the trophy after a win against Coastal United at the

FNB Stadium First National Bank Stadium or simply FNB Stadium, also known as Soccer City and The Calabash, is an association football (soccer) and Rugby union stadium located in Nasrec, bordering the Soweto area of Johannesburg, South Africa. The site is m ...

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

on 29 January 2022.

Marumo Gallants

In January 2023, Kerr was appointed as acting head coach for

club Marumo Gallants with the club at the bottom of the division and on a run of eight games without a win, having won just two PSL games all season. Following Kerr's appointment, Gallants won their next four games and went on an unbeaten eight game

PSL PSL may refer to: Sport *Pakistan Super League, a Twenty20 cricket league *Palau Soccer League, top division association football league in Palau *Pilipinas Super League, a professional basketball league *Philippine Super Liga, a defunct profes ...

run. He also guided them to the semi-finals of the

CAF Confederation Cup The CAF Confederation Cup, known as the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup for sponsorship purposes, is an annual association football football team, club competition established in 2004 and organized by Confederation of African Football, CAF ...

. Gallants players refused to train the day before the semi-final second leg, in protest at what they felt were derisory bonuses offered by chairman Abram Sello for reaching the final. Gallants were relegated on the final day of the season. Kerr had previously had a 100% record of taking over at four relegation-threatened PSL clubs and keeping them all up. Reacting to the team's relegation on the "1871" podcast, Kerr says the players had let themselves and the club down for refusing to train in the run up to the final game over a dispute about bonuses. He believes the dispute was a contributing factor in the side's relegation. Following relegation, it was announced that Kerr would be leaving Gallants. He spent his entire time working for Gallants without having a work permit approved, meaning he had to sit in the stands for all of the side's games.

Brief return to Marumo Gallants

On 9 July 2024, it was announced that Kerr had been reappointed as manager of Marumo Gallants, after the club purchased PSL status from Kerr's former club Moroka Swallows. Kerr resigned after only three weeks in the role following the club's decision to appoint a co-coach. He said: "I didn't feel it was the right move for me to go in the direction that they wanted and I said, 'chairman, I think we just need to go our ways separately.' And that was it."

Return to USA

On 28 January 2025, Kerr was announced as a coach for Soccer Stars United in New York, USA.

Personal life

Kerr was born in

Valletta Valletta ( ; , ) is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 Local councils of Malta, council areas. Located between the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west, its population as of 2021 was 5,157. As Malta’s capital ...

, Malta, but grew up in

Mexborough Mexborough is a town in the City of Doncaster, City of Doncaster District, South Yorkshire, England, between Manvers and Denaby Main, on the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don close to where it joins the River Dearne, and the A6023 road. It is co ...

, England. He was exposed to voodoo practices as part of an initiation ceremony when he joined South African club

in 1988 as a 21-year-old. He revealed that he stood in a bath, naked apart from his football boots, as the heads were cut off three live chickens and their blood was poured on him. Kerr says he is lucky to be alive after he was involved in a car accident during his time as a player at

Reading FC Reading Football Club ( ) is a professional football club based in Reading, Berkshire, England. They compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. They play their home matches at the Select Car Leasing Sta ...

. He was driving and had a passenger in the car. Recalling the incident during a Q&A conversation with Reading fans on the "1871" podcast in June 2022, he said: "A car came up and I lost control and I hit the car. Luckily I didn't hit it head on - if I'd hit it head on we'd have both been dead." Kerr was married in 1995 at the age of 28, but the marriage ended within a year. In September 2022, Kerr was inducted into the Reading FC Hall of Fame. On 26 December 2022, he was robbed at gunpoint in

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

, South Africa.

Media work

Kerr was a pundit for South African broadcaster

SuperSports Central Group is a Thai multinational conglomerate founded by Tiang and Samrit Chirathivat in 1947, and still privately owned by the Chirathivat family . Its publicly-traded subsidiaries include Central Retail, Central Pattana (commercial re ...

Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe organised by the Union of E ...

coverage in 2021. Kerr is a co-host of the "1871" podcast, a podcast for

Reading F.C. Reading Football Club ( ) is a professional football club based in Reading, Berkshire, England. They compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. They play their home matches at the Select Car Leasing Sta ...

fans.

Honours and achievements

As a player

* 1983–84: Promotion to EFL Division 1

* 1986–87: BP Cup winners

* 1989–90: EFL Division 2 winners * 1991–92: EFL Division 1 winners

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

* 1991–92: Promotion to EFL Division 2

* 1993–94: EFL Division 2 winners * 1994–95: EFL Division 1 runners-up

* 1996–97: Scottish Cup winners

* 2000–01: SFL Division 3 winners As a manager

* 2013–14: Vietnam National Cup winners

* 2017:

winners * 2018:

winners * 2018: SportPesa Super Cup winners * 2018: Qualification for

group stage Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila * 2020–21:

winners Warriors * 2022: DStv Compact Cup winners Marumo Gallants * 2023:

semi-finals Individual *

PFA Team of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's Football in England, En ...

: 1993–94 Second Division *

player of the season 1993–94 *

Hall of Fame inductee *

coach of the month - September 2017 *

coach of the month - June 2018 *

manager of the month - January 2019

References

External links

* *
Kerr's profile at FootballCentral.org
– KillieFC.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Kerr, Dylan 1967 births Living people Sportspeople from Valletta English men's footballers Maltese men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Arcadia Shepherds F.C. players Leeds United F.C. players Doncaster Rovers F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Reading F.C. players Carlisle United F.C. players Kilmarnock F.C. players Slough Town F.C. players Kidderminster Harriers F.C. players Hamilton Academical F.C. players Exeter City F.C. players Greenock Morton F.C. players East Stirlingshire F.C. players Harrogate Town A.F.C. players Gateshead F.C. players Kilwinning Rangers F.C. players English Football League players Premier League players Scottish Football League players Scottish Premier League players Northern Premier League players English expatriate men's footballers English expatriate sportspeople in South Africa Expatriate men's soccer players in South Africa English football managers Haiphong FC managers Burton Albion F.C. non-playing staff Simba S.C. managers Chesterfield F.C. non-playing staff Gor Mahia F.C. managers Black Leopards F.C. managers Baroka F.C. managers V.League 1 managers Tanzanian Premier League managers Kenyan Premier League managers Premier Soccer League managers English expatriate football managers English expatriate sportspeople in Vietnam English expatriate sportspeople in Tanzania English expatriate sportspeople in Kenya Expatriate football managers in Vietnam Expatriate football managers in Tanzania Expatriate football managers in Kenya Expatriate soccer managers in South Africa