| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1966-05-08)8 May 1966 (age 59) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Wolverhampton, England | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Defender | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1982–1984 | Willenhall Town | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1984–1985 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 1985–1986 | Gresley | 17 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 1986–1992 | Crewe Alexandra | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 1992–1993 | Rushall Olympic | ||||||||||||||||
| 1993–1996 | Walsall | 62 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 1996 | Hereford United | 19 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 1996–1999 | Mansfield Town | 35 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||
| Mansfield Town (Youth Team) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2002 | Mansfield Town | ||||||||||||||||
| 2004 | Barnsley (Academy Manager) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2006 | Kidderminster Harriers | ||||||||||||||||
| 2006 | Grimsby Town (caretaker) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2008 | Grimsby Town (caretaker) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2013 | Hull City (Development / Reserve Coach) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | Grimsby Town (Youth Team) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2016 | Bharat | ||||||||||||||||
| 2016 | Grimsby Town (caretaker) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2017 | Naxxar Lions | ||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2022 | Bangladesh (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | Jamshedpur (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | Eastbourne Borough (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Stuart Watkiss (born 8 May 1966) is an Englishfootball coach and former professional player who was most recently the assistant manager ofNational League South clubEastbourne Borough.
As a player, he was adefender and notably played in theFootball League withWolverhampton Wanderers,Crewe Alexandra,Walsall,Hereford United andMansfield Town. He became manager of Mansfield in 2002, and later took chargeKidderminster Harriers. Since 2006, he has held strong affiliations toGrimsby Town where he has had three separate spells serving as assistant manager and youth team manager as well as acting as caretaker manager. He has also briefly managed abroad at bothBharat FC andNaxxar Lions and has held various other roles on the coaching staff's ofBarnsley,Hull City andStockport County.
Watkiss started his playing career at Ward's Bridge School in his hometown ofWolverhampton.[1][2] He then joinedWillenhall Town, for theyouth team, which reached the Midland Floodlit Youth League Cup final atVilla Park during the 1982–83 season.[3] He later joined his home town clubWolverhampton Wanderers, where he served his apprenticeship as a 17-year-old. His debut was on 17 March 1984 in aDivision One game withSunderland; however, after making only two appearances,[4] he joinedWest Midlands (Regional) League sideGresley Rovers in June 1985,[2] before making a move toCrewe Alexandra in January 1986.
He went on to play forRushall Olympic,Walsall, andHereford United before moving toMansfield Town in 1996, scoring his only goal for the Stags in a 2–4 win atDarlington in October when he met aBen Sedgemore cross with a header which bounced downward and up into the top corner of the net.[4] Watkiss remained with Town until hanging his boots up in 1999.[4]
Watkiss remained atMansfield Town as youth team coach taking over fromTony Ford, producing at least ten players who progressed into the first team during his three years in charge of the club's youth set-up.[4] In June 2001, assistant managerMark Kearney left to joinNorthampton Town as youth team coach.[5] Speculation mounted that Watkiss would step up to assistant manager. Watkiss told the press"I do feel that the job would be a natural progression for me. A lot of the lads who have come up through the club were with me and I would like the chance to work with them again." A few of weeks later, the club's official website revealed that"the worst kept secret in the club's history had been confirmed", and Watkiss was promoted to assistant manager.[4] ManagerBilly Dearden explained, "I gave the position a lot of thought and have decided that Stuart is the best man for the job. He is a young coach who could go a long way in the game. He is at the right age to work with me, and it is a huge reward for him. He has done an excellent job with the youth team and it was a huge wrench to take him away from the youth team." Watkiss said"I am confident in my ability, I wouldn't have gone for the job if not. Obviously time will tell if I am a success or not, but I am cautiously optimistic. It will be great working with Bill Dearden. He has a wealth of knowledge and experience within the game and I will be watching and learning all the time."[4]
Following the resignation ofBilly Dearden to take over atNotts County,[4] Watkiss made the step up from assistant manager atMansfield Town to become the team's manager in January 2002,[4] where he guided them to their first promotion in 10 years.[6] Due to his promotion success, he was then rewarded a three-year contract,[7] butMansfield struggled in the2002–03 season and by December 2002, following a 4–2 defeat away toPort Vale,[8] the Stags were bottom ofDivision Two, Watkiss and assistantNeil Richardson were sacked after a meeting with Mansfield chairmanKeith Haslam on the following Monday.[9]
Watkiss became academy manager at Barnsley in September 2004,[10] before his next port of call to manageKidderminster Harriers an 18-month contract between 2004 and 2006.[11]
Following his dismissal he became Assistant Manager toGraham Rodger atGrimsby Town, and took over team affairs briefly in November 2006 following the sacking of Rodger,[12] but he was overlooked for the job, which was given toAlan Buckley instead.[13]
Watkiss continued in his role as Assistant Manager for the 2006–07 and 2007–08 campaigns, signing a new one-year contract in June 2007, he said"I'm absolutely delighted to be staying and I can't wait for the season to begin, I've learned so much from Alan in such a short time and I have really enjoyed working with him."[14] He was once again given the role of Caretaker Manager
Grimsby appointedMike Newell in October 2008 and Watkiss re-took his former position as Assistant Manager.[15] At the end of the 2008–09 season, Watkiss was relieved of his duties at the club, and replaced by the club's Chief Scout,Brian Stein.[16]
He was appointed as Development Coach byPhil Brown atHull City in July 2009.[17] Subsequent to the appointment ofSteve Bruce as team manager, on 8 June 2012, Watkiss and fellow first team coachSteve Wigley left the club.[18]
On 28 January 2013 Watkiss was appointed assistant manager ofStockport County on an initial three-month deal, working underDarije Kalezić.[19]
On 11 September 2013 Watkiss rejoinedGrimsby Town as the club's new youth team manager following the resignation of Adam Smith.[20]
On 4 November 2014 it was announced that Watkiss would become the first ever head coach of theBharat FC for the2014–15 season.[21]
On 26 October 2016 Watkiss returned to Grimsby on a temporary basis as joint caretaker manager withDave Moore. Watkiss and Moore oversaw the club's 0–0 draw withYeovil Town and 1-0FA Cup defeat toBolton Wanderers. In January 2017 Watkiss signed for the club on a permanent basis as a Development Coach.
In September 2017 Watkiss was appointed manager ofMaltese Premier League sideNaxxar Lions inMalta.[22] He resigned for personal reasons from the position in November 2017.[23]
In 2018, Watkiss was appointed assistant coach of theBangladesh national football team underJamie Day.[24]
In July 2022, Watkiss moved toIndian Super League clubJamshedpur as an assistant to head coachAidy Boothroyd.[25]
In January 2024, Watkiss returned to coach in England, being appointed assistant manager toAdam Murray atNational League South clubEastbourne Borough.[26] Watkiss left Eastbourne in November 2024, in order to spend more time with his family.[27]
| Team | From | To | Record | Ref | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Mansfield Town | 9 January 2002 | 2 December 2002 | 45 | 16 | 5 | 24 | 035.6 | [28] |
| Kidderminster Harriers | 30 November 2004 | 1 January 2006 | 55 | 17 | 11 | 27 | 030.9 | [28] |
| Grimsby Town | 5 March 2018 | 6 October 2008 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 000.0 | [28] |
| Bharat | 4 November 2014 | 30 May 2015 | 20 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 020.0 | [29] |
| Naxxar Lions | 3 September 2017 | 17 November 2017 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 012.5 | [30] |
| Total | 131 | 38 | 26 | 67 | 029.0 | — | ||
Walsall
Mansfield Town
