Joe Thornton has joined Russ Eagle’s coaching staff at Handsworth, a club he had two spells with as a player.
The Barnsley Non League icon, whose is most associated with his stints with Athersley Rec, Shaw Lane Aquaforce and Staveley, will join Eagle and Aiden Spowage in the Handsworth dugout when Non League Football is given the green-light to return.
Thornton plans to retire from playing at the age of 31 to take up the role.
“It is a opportunity that doesn’t come round everyday, the club has a fantastic structure from junior to men’s football, a fantastic vision and led by honest passionate football people,” he told Handsworth’s official website.
“The club has done an unbelievable job with the facility at Oliver’s Mount. The new pitch and the surroundings are an absolute class above and somewhere any aspiring footballer would want to play.”