David Longwell to Leave AFC Fylde Following Barnet Game

AFC Fylde can confirm that David Longwell and Frankie McAvoy will leave the club following the final game of the 2024/25 campaign against Barnet.

Longwell joined the club at a difficult time in the season and following the departure of Kevin Phillips at the end of February, took the reins until the end of the campaign along with Chris Neal, giving the upmost hard work, dedication and professionalism in attempt to keep the club in the National League.

Despite their best efforts, the club were unable to retain their position in the National League and following the final game of the season, both David and Frankie will be moving on to pastures new, leaving the club ahead of the 2025/26 season.

Ahead of the final game against Barnet, David Longwell said: “First of all I’d like to thank the Chairman and the Director of Football for the opportunity to work at AFC Fylde.

“I joined the club at a very difficult time and believe despite not staying up, we brought a much stronger structure and organisation to the football side of the club and I hope to see the foundations we laid be built on in the months to come.

“I’ve said on numerous occasions that I will always expect and demand hard work from people around me as that is the bare minimum I expect of myself, and I hope supporters can recognise the efforts we have gone to in recent months to keep us in the division. I must compliment the players in trying their best to achieve the results we all desired, but a mixture of various factors unfortunately meant we were unable to achieve this.

“I leave the club after today having really enjoyed the short spell here. It’s a fantastic football club with a passionate Chairman and I wish nothing but the best for him and the club.

“In particular, I’d like to thank the supporters who have been brilliant with me from the first day I walked into the building and I really hope they will be celebrating success next season. I know that Stewart and the Chairman are working hard in plans for next season and I wish AFC Fylde every success in the future and I look forward to coming to a game in the future to give my support, David.”

Everyone at AFC Fylde would like to place on record their thankfulness to David and Frankie for their hard work and professionalism during their time on the Fylde Coast and we wish them nothing but the best for the future.

An announcement regarding the Head Coach role at Mill Farm will be made in the coming weeks.