Ex-England midfielder Dyer named new Southend boss

Former Ipswich Town, Newcastle United and England midfielder Kieron Dyer has been appointed head coach of National League side Southend United.

It is the 47-year-old's first managerial role, having spent long spells coaching with both Ipswich and Chesterfield.

He has left his job as first-team coach at League Two club Chesterfield to replace Kevin Maher, who was sacked on 19 May, just two days after Southend's win over Wealdstone in the FA Trophy final at Wembley.

Maher had been in charge since 2021 and guided the Shrimpers to the play-offs in the past two National League seasons, reaching the final last June before losing to Oldham Athletic.

Dyer - who had a life-saving liver transplant due to a rare illness in 2023 - has signed a two-year deal at Roots Hall.

"Southend are the biggest club in the National League and deserve to be a league club - I'm really excited to get started and hopefully get this club into the Football League, where it belongs," he told the club website., external

"I've been a sponge absorbing all the knowledge around me and seeing how top managers have worked. There's so many ways to play this game, so to get different ideas and apply them to my philosophy can only help in the long run.

"We will fear no one in this league. We will try to dominate the ball and play with such a high intensity; it's one of my non-negotiables. I feel if we do these things then we have a great chance."

A club statement said Dyer had been selected becauae of his "coaching credentials, leadership qualities, tactical understanding, commitment to player development and alignment with the long-term vision for Southend United".

It added: "His extensive experience across the English football pyramid as both a player and a coach, combined with his passion for continuous learning and improving players, made him an ideal fit."

Dyer's contract with the Shrimpers includes an option for a third year and the rest of his backroom team will be announced in due course.

He will work alongside director of football Oliver Gage, who was appointed in April,, external and new head of recruitment Jonathan Duckett.

"What stood out throughout the process was his clarity of thought," said Gage. "He combines elite playing experience with strong coaching credentials and a genuine desire to keep learning and improving.

"He knows what promotion from the National League looks like, understands the level, understands the area and is passionate about developing players and improving standards every day."

Dyer began his playing career with hometown club Ipswich and was given his first-team debut in a 3-1 win over Crystal Palace on Boxing Day in 1996.

He made 117 appearances for Town, scoring 14 goals, before being sold to Newcastle United, for £6.5m in the summer of 1999, where he played under Sir Bobby Robson.

Dyer made his England debut in the same year and went on to play at the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea and win 33 caps in total.

He spent eight years on Tyneside although his time there featured moments of controversy including an on-pitch fight with team-mate Lee Bowyer in 2005.

Leaving Newcastle two years later, he joined West Ham United and had later spells with Queens Park Rangers and Middlesbrough before retiring.

He returned to Ipswich as an academy coach in 2014 and filled various roles before resigning as Under-23s boss in March 2022, a decision which chief executive Mark Ashton said had "come as a surprise".

Away from football, Dyer published his autobiography in 2018 and appeared in reality TV shows I'm A Celebrity: Get Me Out Of Here and Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins before joining Chesterfield in the summer of 2023.

Soon after, he underwent transplant surgery, having been diagnosed with primary sclerosing cholangitis, a chronic liver condition with no cure, in 2019, but returned to work under Cook as the Spireites regained their place in the English Football League in 2024 by winning the National League title.

BBC Essex reporter Warren Muggleton

Kieron Dyer arrives at Roots Hall with proven top-level experience and a coaching track record.

After a playing career featuring more than 200 Premier League appearances and 33 England caps, he got straight into coaching after retiring in 2013.

He worked up the levels at hometown club Ipswich, moving from the Under-18s to the senior squad under Paul Cook. And he followed the manager to Chesterfield in 2023, helping guide the Spireites to the National League title a year later.

Dyer has learned from those at the top of the game, shadowing now-Bayern Munich manager Vincent Kompany for three months during his time at Anderlecht and Manchester United boss Michael Carrick when he was at Middlesbrough, not forgetting his experience under Sir Bobby Robson at Newcastle United.

One source at the club told me they were impressed during the interview with how he came across as "obsessed with the game" in a positive way.

Dyer has a big task this summer, with a current squad of 12 and three of those in contract negotiations.

Following back-to-back play-off campaigns and a first-ever national cup win for the Blues, the aim set out for him - along with director of football Gage and head of recruitment Duckett - will be challenging for National League promotion.