Eastick handed Ireland U21 role

Former Newcastle United head coach and academy manager Brian Eastick has been appointed the new Republic of Ireland Under-21 assistant manager.

Eastick takes over from Neil Banfield, who has been forced to step down as assistant to boss Don Givens after being recently handed the role of Arsenal reserve team manager.

Eastick brings with him a wealth of experience as he has served in a number of coaching positions at Chelsea, Birmingham, Sheffield United, Coventry and QPR, as well as working as assistant to Brian Hamilton when he was manager of Northern Ireland.

Givens said: “I welcome Brian’s appointment and I look forward to working with him as we fulfil our remaining fixtures in the European Under-21 Championships and continue to build our squad at this level for the future.”