Kieron Dyer leaves Chesterfield to take up head coach role
Kieron Dyer has left his coaching role at Chesterfield to take over at Southend United.
The former England international joined the Spireites three years ago, helping the club get back into the Football League and absorbing knowledge along the way, not least from manager Paul Cook.
The 47-year-old will now look to forge his own path as a head coach with National League Southend, who have similar ambitions.
They said they had gone for Dyer due to his “coaching credentials, leadership qualities, tactical understanding, commitment to player development and alignment with the long-term vision for Southend United”.
Prior to joining Chesterfield, ex Newcastle United and West Ham man Dyer coached at his boyhood club Ipswich Town, working with the U18s, U23s and First Team.
“I’m really proud and privileged,” said Dyer. “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.”
Chesterfield chairman Ashley Kirk paid tribute to Dyer as a coach and as a man.
"Kieron joined the Spireites at a pivotal moment in the club’s journey and played a significant role in our promotion back into the EFL,” he said.
"It was a landmark achievement for this football club and its supporters. His enthusiasm, professionalism and genuine love for the game were evident every single day on the training ground.
"What made Kieron’s contribution even more remarkable was the personal journey he undertook while with the club; facing serious illness and undergoing a liver transplant in October 2023.
"His courage and determination never wavered as he came through that experience with the same energy and commitment that our players and staff drew so much from when he returned to the touchline in November 2023. That alone tells you everything about the character of the man."
Dyer has signed at two-year contract at Southend with the option of a third year.