Following the departures of joint head coach Scott Hardy and physio Dean Martin, Luke Hall has been busy reshaping his backroom staff in readiness for the 24/25 season.

Ex Derby Academy player Tom Bennett joins as player/coach after a brief spell as a Head Coach at league rivals Dunton & Broughton where he guided them into the promotion spots before departing shortly before xmas. Tom also has a wealth of experience further up the none league pyramid as a player representing various clubs at step 3 and 4.

Co-founder of sports consultancy agency 'prolific soccer' Thuso Nyoni also joins the backroom staff as a player/coach. Thuso joins off the back of a successful playing career which seen him play professionally abroad before coming back into non league football at step 3 and 4. Since semi retiring, Thuso has been concentrating on his business of identifying young players and moving them into the professional game.

Hall has clearly found it tough losing Hardy but hopes now things can settle down in what's been a turbulent summer for the Development side.

'Losing my right hand man of 3 years in Scott has been really difficult for me personally. For those who don't know, we spent a lot of time together either in person or over the phone to ensure everything was done as professionally as possible so it took a few weeks to get my head around things.
Tom came in with Scott and myself at the end of last season and immediately made an impact with his deep understanding of the game. Thuso I have been fairly close with for 12 months now since he decided to semi retire and concentrate on his work but we've always stayed in contact touching base on players etc. With the huge turnover of players this summer, both have expressed an appetite to play and coach & given their pedigree as players and the levels they have operated at, it was a no brainer to get them on board permanently especially with such a young group around them. I am delighted they are within my coaching set up'.

Thuso and Tom join Hall's backroom staff along with the existing staff Michael Stacey, Under 18s Head Coach & George Foot who is the Lead Junior academy coach and senior data analyst.

Development Coaching Structure

Luke Hall - Head Coach
George Foot - Assistant coach & Senior data analyst
Tom Bennett - Player/Coach
Michael Stacey - Coach & Under 18s Head Coach
Thuso Nyoni - Player/Coach
Masseur & Physio - Sam Devlin