FORMER Accrington Stanley captain John Doolan has returned to the club as first-team coach.

Doolan will work alongside manager John Coleman and assistant Jimmy Bell at the Wham Stadium following the announcement.

The 49-year-old previously played for Stanley in 1999/2000 and captained the team which won the UniBond First Division title when victory over Farsley Celtic on the final day capped a memorable promotion

Doolan was most recently working at Wigan Athletic as interim first-team coach to Graham Barrow following the dismissal of Warren Joyce.

The defender started his career in non-league before spending four years as a player at Wigan between 1992 and 1996.

He went into coaching at the end of his playing career at Liverpool and Everton’s Academy before returning to Wigan to look after their Under 18s side.

Doolan was first-team coach at the Latics as they reached the semi-final of the FA Cup and lost in the play-offs to QPR during the 2013/14 season.

He then went to Hibernian as first team coach with Alan Stubbs and helped them achieve a Scottish Cup final win over Rangers in 2016.

The pair then moved into the Championship with Rotherham but only lasted 13 games before Doolan finished the season back at the DW Stadium.