Alan Richard Knill (born 8 October 1964) is a professional football

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

and former player, who is a coach for the Wales national team. He played as a centre-back for several clubs, spending the most time at

Halifax Town FC Halifax Town is a professional association football club based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. They currently compete in and play at the Shay. They replaced Halifax Town A.F.C., which went into administration in the 2007–08 season. ...

, Bury and Scunthorpe United. Born in England, he made one appearance for Wales in 1988. He has also managed his former clubs Rotherham United, Bury, Scunthorpe United and had a short-lived spell at

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

Playing career

Knill was born in Slough and started his career as a trainee with

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

in November 1978. He signed as a professional in October 1982, but failed to break into the first–team. He then moved on to

(1984–87), Swansea City (1987–89), Bury (1989–93), Cardiff City (1993, on loan), Scunthorpe United (1993–97) and Rotherham United (1997–99). He also played once for

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, in a

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

qualifier against the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

in September 1988.

Managerial career

Knill was appointed manager of

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...

in February 2006, when predecessor Mick Harford was sacked. On 1 March 2007, Knill was sacked as manager of Rotherham, leaving the club bottom of

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

and without a win in his final 14 games. On 17 March 2007, he was appointed to Chesterfield's backroom staff to help newly appointed caretaker manager Lee Richardson try save the Spireites from relegation from League One, but the club were eventually relegated. On 4 February 2008, he was appointed manager of

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

side Bury. In his first full season in charge, Knill led the Shakers to 4th place in

, missing out on automatic promotion by one goal on goal difference. They were then beaten on penalties in a play-off semi final against

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...

. With eight games remaining, and only one point from the play-offs, Alan Knill left Bury to join Scunthorpe United on 31 March 2011. His first game in charge was a 6–0 defeat at the hands of

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

, followed by a 4–1 victory over table-topping

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

. After a difficult start to the 2012 season, Knill believed that life had been put into perspective after narrowly avoiding serious injury after a crash with a squirrel. Knill was sacked as Scunthorpe manager on 29 October 2012 and replaced by

Brian Laws Brian Laws (born 14 October 1961) is an English former professional footballer and manager. Playing as a defender, Laws made over 100 appearances for each of Burnley, Middlesbrough, and Nottingham Forest. In 1994, Laws became player-manager of ...

. On 20 February 2013,

appointed Knill as caretaker manager in place of

Martin Ling Martin Ling (born 15 July 1966) is an English football manager and former player currently director of football for Leyton Orient. He played in over 100 Football League matches for each of Exeter City, Southend United, Swindon Town and Leyto ...

, who had gone on sick leave. Knill's objective was to keep The Gulls in the football league and that was achieved on the final day of the season with a 3–3 draw at home to

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been ...

. Knill saw his efforts with Torquay as a success, and felt he had "improved his CV" by helping the club avoid relegation. On 7 May 2013, he was appointed the permanent manager of Torquay. Knill was sacked on 2 January 2014 with the club having won only five league games in the 2013–14 season and sitting 23rd in

. On 27 January 2014, Knill was made assistant to the new

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

manager Chris Wilder, who had been Knill's assistant at Bury. He then followed Wilder to become his assistant manager at

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

in May 2016. On 7 November 2021, he linked up with Wilder for a third time, becoming the assistant manager at

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

side

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

. In August 2021, he joined the backroom staff of the Wales national team under manager

Rob Page Robert John Page (born 3 September 1974) is a Welsh football manager and former player, who is currently the manager of the Wales national team. In an 18-year career in the Premier League and the English Football League, he made 550 competitiv ...

Managerial statistics

Honours

Individual * League One Manager of the Month: October 2006 * League Two Manager of the Month: September 2008, January 2009, October 2010

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Knill, Alan 1964 births Living people Sportspeople from Slough English footballers Welsh footballers Wales international footballers English Football League players Southampton F.C. players Halifax Town A.F.C. players Swansea City A.F.C. players Bury F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Scunthorpe United F.C. players Rotherham United F.C. players English football managers Rotherham United F.C. managers Bury F.C. managers Scunthorpe United F.C. managers English Football League managers Association football defenders Northampton Town F.C. non-playing staff Sheffield United F.C. non-playing staff Footballers from Berkshire Middlesbrough F.C. non-playing staff