Clitheroe FC are delighted to announce the appointment of Michael Worthington as the clubs new Under 21’s manager. Michael is a UEFA B qualified coach who works as an FA Tutor and heads up the Football Academy at Accrington and Rossendale College. He brings a lot of knowledge of local players and experience to the role, having previously been at Nelson FC, AFC Darwen and Padiham FC.
Michael joins the club from Padiham FC, where he was the Under 21’s manager. In his two seasons at the club, a number of players made their first team debut and the team won the Lancashire Galaxy League, Lancashire FA County Cup and where top of the Lancashire FA Under 21s league this season with a lead of ten points before the COVID-19 pandemic stopped all football in the country.
Speaking about the appoint Michael said ‘I am delighted to join Clitheroe FC, when initial discussions took place with Lee Sharples and Alex Norwood, it was clear that it was too good of an opportunity to turn down. I would like to thank Padiham FC, in particular Shaun Astin and Michael Morrison for their support and guidance while at Padiham. Lee has a clear vision for the club and I am looking forward to working with him and the first team management. I want to make sure the under 21s set up is run professionally and represents the club in the right way. It is important the team, supports and produces players for the first team and that is our aim. We will also be trying our best to win as many games as possible and making sure Clitheroe has the best youth set up in the area.
Michael will be joined in his role by his coaching team of, Arron Ripley (Assistant), Will Chubbock (coach) and Alan Taylor (Coach). Arron, a Clitheroe resident joins the club for a second time, in his first spell, he was part of the successful youth team that where knocked out of the FA Youth Cup by Darlington in the 2016/17 season. Arron added ‘I am delighted to re-join Clitheroe, my home town club. The club is special and on the up. The vision the Chairman has for the club made the decision a no-brainer and I cannot wait to get started. We have had two successful years at Padiham with the under 21s and we are determined to bring the winning mentality to the Under 21s side at Clitheroe FC.’
Speaking to the website, Chairman Lee Sharples added ‘I am delighted to appoint someone of Michael’s calibre to the role, he has a history of producing players for first teams and his style fits into the vision that I have for Clitheroe Football Club. He is qualified to a high level and has good knowledge of the local football scene as well as knowledge of what it takes to get players to first team level. My aim is to take everything associated to the club to the next level and I believe we have done that, in terms of our under 21s set up, with this appointment.’

The Under 21s will once again play in the Lancashire Under 21s league for the 2020/21 season. Information for the Under 21s team will be released once the current situation in the country clears up. Players interested in coming for a trial for the Under 21s are asked to contact Michael, initially by email Michael.worthington11@gmail.com