South Shields FC is delighted to announce the appointment of Elliott Dickman as its 16-19s Academy manager.
Dickman has a stellar reputation in youth football circles, having held the roles of Academy coach, assistant Academy manager and Under-23s head coach during a 23-year coaching stint with Sunderland.
He was also Newcastle United’s Under-23s lead player development coach between October 2021 and January 2023, and is the holder of a UEFA Pro Licence.
Among the players to have thrived under the tutelage of Dickman are England internationals Jordan Pickford and Jordan Henderson, Bordeaux striker Josh Maja, former Newcastle United and Sunderland midfielder Jack Colback, current Black Cats star Dan Neil and South Shields captain Blair Adams.
Dickman – who started his coaching journey with Sunderland’s Under-8s – will work jointly alongside fellow 16-19s Academy manager Andy Inness in leading the 16-19s programme.
He said: “I’m very excited and grateful to have been given this great opportunity to be part of the club.
“I was very impressed with the vision the club has in the conversations I had with (chairman) Geoff Thompson and (sporting director) Lee Picton, and this is a fantastic chance for me to continue to help young players develop, improve and hopefully progress into the first-team.
“This is a club with great potential and the reputation of the Academy within football circles in the North East is really strong.
“Lots of people speak very highly of the programme and the way the lads have been coached, and I can already see what a progressive club this is.
“It has a very family feel about it and I’m honoured to be part of it now.”
Dickman started work at 1st Cloud Arena earlier this week.
South Shields FC sporting director Lee Picton said: “Elliott has huge levels of experience working very successfully with players in the professional development stage.
“We currently have a particularly talented cohort of players in our 16-19 Academy, and Elliott’s expertise alongside Andy Inness will be instrumental in helping the club nurture a lot of that talent into genuine first-team prospects.
“I’m absolutely delighted to bring someone of Elliott’s calibre on board with us and look forward to seeing the positive impact he will undoubtedly have.”