Premier League cult hero replaces Kevin Phillips as South Shields manager – and he was team-mates with Sunderland legend
FORMER Premier League player Julio Arca has replaced Kevin Phillips as South Shields manager.
Phillips – who played with Arca at Sunderland – left the non-league outfit this month by mutual consent.
The ex-England international joined South Shields in January 2022 and led the club to promotion this summer.
But following his second season in charge, Phillips departed.
And now the club has confirmed former player Arca – who retired with the Tyne and Wear side – will return as their new manager.
Arca said: “It’s great to be back at the club after so many years.
“I firmly believe this is the right time for me to come back for a different challenge, and I’m very excited about it.
“The club has grown so fast, and this is a fantastic opportunity for me to become a manager for the first time, especially with the platform we have here.
“There is a lot of work to do between now and the start of pre-season but I’m very hungry to get started and help the club continue to progress.
“I like to compete. I’m not a person who is happy to sit in mid-table, and that’s why we need to get the right things done at the beginning.
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“I will do the best I can to put South Shields in a great position next season.”
Arca joined Sunderland in 2000 and spent six years with the Black Cats before spending the same amount of time with Middlesbrough.
But in 2013 he left Middlesbrough and two years later joined South Shields – hanging up his boots in 2015.