Former Barnsley managers Nigel Spackman and Paul Hart have taken their first management jobs since leaving their Oakwell posts.
Spackman had a fairly disastrous 9 month reign at Barnsley between January and October 2001. He did manage to keep The Reds in the First Division towards the end of the 2000-2001 season but big-money flops that summer saw The Reds hurtling towards the Second Division in 2001-2002 and he was sacked after a 3-1 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday in October 2001.
Spackman has been appointed the shock new manager at recently relegated Millwall. Spackman had been working as a TV Pundit in the 5 years since his Oakwell departure and now has the job of rescuing the ailing Lions. If Barnsley lose against Swansea this weekend he can expect a hostile reception when he brings Millwall to Oakwell next term.
Meanwhile Andy Ritchie's predecessor Paul Hart has also made his move back into football after over a year since he left Oakwell.
Hart was in charge at Barnsley for exactly 12 months between 4th March 2004 and 4th March 2005. He guided the Reds to 12th place in 2003-2004 but after wholesale changes and big name signings such as Stephen McPhail and Nick Colgan were brought in over the summer and failed to gel, The Reds again stared at mid-table mediocrity in 2004-2005.
Those same crop of players though have taken Barnsley into the League One Play-Off Final this season.
Hart has now taken over at another relegated club, Rushden & Diamonds who have just been relegated out of the Football League. Rushden finished rock-bottom of League Two in 2005-2006 and Hart now has the mammoth task of getting Rushden, who were only formed in 1992, back into the Football League.
Nigel Spackman's Barnsley Managerial Career:
P:36 W:11 D:7 L:18 Win %: 30.5%
Paul Hart's Barnsley Managerial Career:
P:51 W:14 D:19 L:18 Win%: 27.4%
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