First Team Staff
MICHAEL DUFF - HEAD COACH
Swansea City confirmed the appointment of Michael Duff as the club’s new head coach in June 2023.
The 45-year-old Northern Irishman put pen to paper on a three-year deal at the Swansea.com Stadium after compensation was agreed with Barnsley, and he will oversee the first day of pre-season training on Friday.
He becomes the fourth Northern Irishman to manage the Swans, following in the footsteps of Billy McCandless, Harry Gregg and Brendan Rodgers.
Duff moved into coaching after a long and distinguished career that saw him remarkably play in the top eight divisions in English football with Carterton Town, Cirencester Town, Cheltenham Town and Burnley.
Born in Belfast, Duff had spells on the books with Nottingham Forest, Darlington and Swindon, before signing for Cheltenham Town.
The former defender helped the Southern League club to promotions in 1997 and 1999, scoring the goal that sealed their place in the Football League in the second of those two seasons, while they also celebrated an FA Trophy win in 1998.
Duff was also part of the squad that got the Robins promoted to the third tier via the play-offs in 2002.
He would move on to Burnley – then in the Championship - in 2004 and would enjoy three separate promotions to the Premier League with the Clarets.
He played in the play-off final win over Sheffield United in 2009 and helped Burnley finish second in the second tier in 2014, before hanging up his boots in 2016 following their Championship title success.
He also won 24 caps for Northern Ireland, playing in famous wins over England and Spain.
Duff moved into coaching in the Burnley youth set-up, before taking over as Cheltenham boss in 2018.
He led them to the League Two play-offs in a season curtailed by Covid-19, before securing promotion as champions the following campaign.
A switch to Barnsley followed in 2022, and a side renowned for its attacking potency came agonisingly close to securing an immediate return to the Championship, only to lose to a last-gasp strike in the League One play-off final against Sheffield Wednesday.
ALAN SHEEHAN - ASSISTANT HEAD COACH
Alan Sheehan joined Swansea City as assistant head coach in June 2023, taking up the position within Michael Duff's coaching staff.
Sheehan, 36, who has held first-team coaching positions at Luton Town and Southampton, enjoyed a lengthy playing career that saw him feature for Leicester, Mansfield, Leeds, Crewe, Oldham, Swindon, Notts County, Bradford, Peterborough, Luton, Lincoln and Northampton.
The former left-back also won five caps for the Republic of Ireland Under-21s, and held a player-coach role with Oldham before his move into full-time coaching with Luton in 2022.
MARTIN PATERSON - ASSISTANT HEAD COACH
Martin Paterson joined Swansea City as assistant head coach in June 2023, taking up the position within Michael Duff's coaching staff.
Paterson played with Swans boss Duff for Burnley and Northern Ireland, helping the Clarets secure promotion to the Premier League in 2009.
He worked alongside his former teammate at Barnsley last season, having previously held coaching positions in the United States with Tampa Bay Rowdies, Fort Lauderdale CF and Inter Miami.
The 36-year-old former striker represented Stoke, Grimsby, Scunthorpe, Burnley, Huddersfield, Bristol City, Fleetwood Town, Orlando City, Blackpool, Port Vale, Tampa Bay and ATK in India during his playing career.
MARTYN MARGETSON - HEAD OF GOALKEEPING
Martyn Margetson rejoined Swansea City as head of goalkeeping in July 2023.
Margetson was previously on the club’s coaching staff between 2019 and 2021 and took up a position as part of Michael Duff’s new-look backroom team.
The 51-year-old is currently goalkeeping coach in Gareth Southgate’s England set-up, where he has helped the Three Lions reach the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup and the Euro 2020 final.
Margetson hails from Port Talbot and started his playing career with Manchester City, joining their youth system in 1988.
He went on to make 60 first-team appearances for the Maine Road side, while also having spells with Bristol Rovers, Bolton, Luton Town, Southend, Huddersfield and Cardiff, becoming player-coach at the latter and moving into a goalkeeping coach position after hanging up his gloves in 2007.
Margetson, who was capped by his country against Canada in 2004, went on to join the Wales national set-up to work with Gary Speed in 2011.
He remained involved under Chris Coleman as the Dragons enjoyed an unforgettable run to the semi-finals of Euro 2016.
Margetson then made the switch to England in August 2016, initially working under Sam Allardyce and then remaining in Southgate’s backroom team.
At club level, he moved to West Ham in 2014, before returning to Cardiff. He has since worked at Crystal Palace, Everton and Swansea.
Margetson will combine his ongoing England duties with his position in Duff’s coaching team.
KRIS O'LEARY - FIRST-TEAM COACH
Kris O’Leary joined the Swansea City first-team coaching staff ahead of the 2022-23 season, and remained in place following Michael Duff's appointment as head coach.
The 45-year-old took on the position of first-team coach, having held the role on an interim basis over the final months of the 2021-22 campaign, in addition to his responsibilities with the Swansea under-23 squad.
It continued the former midfielder’s lengthy relationship with his boyhood club.
O’Leary played 334 games for the club over a 15-year spell, winning three promotions during his time at both the Vetch Field and Swansea.com Stadium.
The former midfielder had previously coached in the club’s academy as well as in the first-team setup; O’Leary was part of Garry Monk’s coaching staff during the 2014-15 season which saw the club finish eighth in the Premier League.