New Dulwich Hamlet interim boss has previous links to Millwall and Chelsea

Dulwich Hamlet have placed former Welling United and Greenwich Borough manager Paul Barnes in interim charge.

The National League South side parted company with long-serving boss Gavin Rose on Sunday night.

Jack Holland and Danny Mills took the Hamlet side on Tuesday evening as they lost 3-1 against Hemel Hempstead Town at Champion Hill.

“Paul brings a wealth of coaching experience to the club of more than 20 years, having worked in the professional game at Chelsea and Millwall, before moving into coaching and managerial roles within non-league football at the likes of Welling United, Margate, Ashford United, Greenwich Borough, Staines Town, Guildford City and Redhill, where has been the manager since February of this year,” said a statement on Dulwich’s website. “Paul is also holder of a UEFA ‘A’ coaching licence.

“Paul is already well-known to many of the people at the club and has a strong background in developing clubs both on and off the pitch and the club are looking forward to Paul working with the board, in particular Dumebi Dumaka as director of football on the evolution of all teams at Dulwich Hamlet, and also Mark Weatherald, our director responsible for planning on the development of our plans for training facilities, the new stadium and expanding our sporting provision.”

Barnes is set to bring a backroom team in to help him, with his first fixture this weekend against Margate at Champion Hill.

“This is an amazing opportunity to be involved at Dulwich Hamlet who have a great pedigree and history,” said Barnes. “I introduced myself to the players during Tuesday’s game with Hemel Hempstead, and am looking forward to working with them, including some that I have had the pleasure of working with before, and hopefully help this club move into a new chapter.”

“I love the ethos of the club, and its unbelievable atmosphere generated on match days, the support at Champion Hill is incredible, and is easily one of the best fanbases at any tier in non-league football. It has been a busy 24 hours sorting things but I am looking forward to starting.”

MAIN PICTURE: KEITH GILLARD