Southend United appoint former England international as their new manager

National League side Southend United have named former Ipswich Town and Newcastle United winger Kieron Dyer as their new manager.

The Shrimpers were on the hunt for a new boss following the dismissal of club legend Kevin Maher, who was relieved of his duties within 48 hours of leading the club to FA Trophy glory following a penalty shootout triumph over Wealdstone.

Southend finished sixth in the National League last season and were defeated in a play-off eliminator by Scunthorpe United.

The club's hierarchy admitted it was a "brave decision" to sack Maher but insisted it was "the right moment to start the next chapter" as they look to build a team capable of challenging for the title.

Dyer is the individual tasked with attempting to orchestrate Southend's return to the Football League as the Essex outfit aim to end their five-year exile from the top four tiers of English football.

“I’m really proud and privileged,” Dyer said after putting pen to paper on a two-year contract with the option of a further 12 months. “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.

“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 and 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.

“To the supporters, I’ll do everything I can to be successful, so enjoy the ride. It’s going to be a lot of fun and hopefully you’ll enjoy the football that we put out on the pitch.”

The Southend job represents Dyer's first managerial job after accumulating more than 12 years of coaching experience.

The 47-year-old, who won 33 caps for England across an eight-year period from 1999, retired from professional football in 2013 following the expiration of his contract at Middlesbrough and returned to his boyhood club Ipswich as an academy coach.

Dyer spent four years honing his craft with the Tractor Boys before obtaining his UEFA A License. He sampled coaching with England's youth ranks under former Carlisle United manager Paul Simpson whilst managing Ipswich's U18s, before departing the Suffolk club in August 2019.

On the decision to leave, Dyer told the East Anglian Daily Times: "The reason I left when I was assistant with Adem (Atay) was because I wanted to better myself. I thought I was a bang average coach. I went away to learn and study from other managers and clubs."

The ex-Newcastle winger and former I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! contestant returned to Portman Road a year later to become Ipswich's U23s head coach, where he struck up a relationship with Paul Cook and was also involved in the club's first-team setup.

Dyer resigned from his position as Ipswich's U23s head coach due to health reasons, but he returned to the game a year later with Chesterfield in a consultancy role.

He was subsequently added to Cook's first-team coaching staff in June 2023 and featured in Chesterfield's National League title success in 2024, along with their consecutive League Two play-off appearances in the previous two seasons.

Dyer will not be the only former England international in the National League next term with Jermain Defoe set to embark on his first full campaign with Woking.