| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | David Robert Merrington | ||
| Date of birth | (1945-01-26)26 January 1945 (age 80) | ||
| Place of birth | Newcastle, England[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Centre back | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1964–1971 | Burnley | 98 | (1) |
| Bristol City | |||
| Managerial career | |||
| 1978 | Sunderland (caretaker) | ||
| 1980 | Leeds United (caretaker) | ||
| 1995–1996 | Southampton | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
David Robert Merrington (born 26 January 1945) is an English former professionalfootballer, manager and commentator. He served as a caretaker manager atSunderland in 1978, andLeeds United in 1980. Merrington was manager ofSouthampton from 1995 until his dismissal in 1996.
Before his career as a coach, Merrington played as adefender, spending the majority of his playing career atBurnley before moving toBristol City. Merrington later worked as a commentator forBBC Radio Solent. He retired from commentating in 2022.
Merrington played forBurnley, appearing in 98 league games (1 goal), including a spell ascaptain.[2] Whilst at Burnley, he was blighted continually by serious injuries.[2][3] He later played forBristol City before retiring and going into coaching.[4]
Merrington was a brief caretaker manager forSunderland following the departure ofJimmy Adamson in 1978, and in 1980 he again took over from Adamson as caretaker manager (for 1 game only) atLeeds United.[5][6][7]
He became youth coach atSouthampton in 1983, before taking over as manager for the1995–96 season.[8] He wasPremiershipManager of the Month in April 1996, his only full season in management.[9] Despite securing Southampton's top flight status on goal difference, he was dismissed on 14 June 1996 and succeeded byGraeme Souness.[10] During the final weeks of the 1995–96 season, he guided Southampton to two crucial wins which played a big part in their survival - they first beatManchester United (champions that season) 3–1 atThe Dell, and then won their penultimate game 1–0 atBolton Wanderers, a result which confirmed the other side's relegation.[11]
A year later he returned to the club as a coach under next managerDave Jones but left again three years later after Jones was succeeded byGlenn Hoddle.[6] His next stop was a brief spell working asWalsall's first-team coach alongside managerColin Lee in 2002, but later resigned for personal reasons.[12]
Merrington worked forBBC Radio Solent, commentating onSouthampton matches.[13] Merrington retired from commentary at the end of the2021–22 season.[14][15]
Individual