Solano appointed Blyth Spartans manager

Former Newcastle midfielder Nolberto Solano has been appointed manager at Northern Premier League Blyth Spartans, the club has announced.

The 49-year-old spent seven-and-a-half years at St James' Park across two spells and also played for Aston Villa, West Ham and Leicester where he was a team-mate of Spartans' sporting director Steve Howard.

He replaces Jon Shaw, who parted company with the club in the wake of their relegation from National League North and has signed an initial 12-month contract.

"It's a wonderful challenge - I'm really pleased," said Solano. "One of the reasons I accepted is the way my ex-team-mate Steve Howard showed me the ambition of the club, which is something I love.

"It will be a great opportunity to work with the local lads. I know Blyth very well. It's a very popular team in the North East.

"I'm very excited. With these wonderful players and the new owner, we need to work hard, work together and get back up into National League North."

As a result of that relegation, Blyth will play the 2024-25 season in the seventh tier of English football.

Solano's coaching career has seen him drag Universitario de Deportes of his native Peru out of a relegation fight to a top-half finish as manager, and help his native country reach the 2018 World Cup finals as assistant.

This is not the first time Blyth have appointed an ex-Magpie to manage the team with former captain Lee Clark and ex-striker Graham Fenton having been in charge over the past five seasons.