Darlo appoint former Tykes boss

Darlington have announced Simon Davey as a permanent replacement for former manager Steve Staunton.

Former Barnsley manager Davey, 39, will take charge of the club's trip to Burton on Saturday after signing a contract until the summer of 2011.

Chairman Raj Singh said: "We're delighted to secure Simon's services as our new manager and we're looking forward to him getting to work straight away.

"This signals the end of a hectic fortnight for us and we're naturally very pleased to now have who we think is the right man for the job.

"Simon has had a thorough grounding in coaching with Preston and Barnsley, followed by a very encouraging three years in charge of Barnsley, and he's extremely hungry to succeed as a manager.

"He's bought into what we're trying to achieve here and he's excited by the opportunity."

Davey, who had a brief loan spell with Darlington as a player in 1997, was Barnsley's boss from 2006 and took them to the FA Cup semi-finals in 2008 with a memorable run which included wins over Liverpool and Chelsea.

He had previously headed up the academy at Oakwell after starting out his coaching career in a similar capacity at Preston.

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