Former Wolves, Cardiff City, Man City and Ipswich Town star abruptly leaves managerial role

A former Wolves defender has left his role as head coach of a League One club.

Several former Wolverhampton Wanderers players are in the coaching or management game, but one has now decided to leave his post.

Play-off winning defender Mark Kennedy has left Lincoln City, with his departure announced by the Imps on Wednesday evening. His departure comes despite having three-years left on the four-year deal he was given when he was appointed.

Lincoln’s chief executive Liam Scully said in a club statement: "Everyone at the club thanks Mark and Danny for their contribution to the Imps over their time with us.

“We wish them well in their future coaching careers. They leave with our thanks and best wishes.”

In reaction to Kennedy’s departure, former Nuneaton, Tamworth and Kidderminster midfielder Tom Saw will oversee first-team affairs whilst they source a successor.

Kennedy had been in charge at Sincil Bank since the summer of 2022, and oversaw 73 matches in total. His 17-month tenure saw him win 25 times, draw 27 matches and also lose on 21 occasions. He led Lincoln to an 11th-placed finish in the 2022/23 campaign.

At the time of his departure, Lincoln were 16th in the standings. He masterminded Lincoln to a 2-0 win over his former club’s under-21’s side in the EFL Trophy last week.

Lincoln City was the second managerial job of Kennedy’s career having had a brief stint at Macclesfield Town, before they were wound up in September 2020. He went on to assist Lee Bowyer at Birmingham City, before taking up the job at Lincoln. Before getting jobs at Macclesfield, he worked with Wolves’ under-23 team in 2019 and also worked for his former clubs Ipswich and Manchester City.

Kennedy spent five-years as a player at Molineux, and as mentioned won promotion to the Premier League in 2003. He made 187 appearances in total, and got 14 goals and six assists. The other clubs in his career included Crystal Palace, Cardiff City, Manchester City, Liverpool, Millwall and QPR.

In other news, Mike Williamson has been appointed as the new first-team manager of MK Dons. The 39-year-old was installed as the early favourite for the League Two job, and he has left Gateshead to take on his first job in the English Football League.