Martin Foyle. He took the club to an FA Cup Third Round tie with Derby County and up to 20th in the Conference. On 20 January 2015, Brabin left Southport to take up a post at Everton to be part of the coaching set up at the under-21 level. His successor at Haig Avenue, Paul Carden, led Southport to a 19th-place finish at the end of the 2014–15 season. Tranmere Rovers On 5 May 2015, Brabin was appointed as the manager of Tranmere Rovers following their relegation to the National League. He guided Rovers to a sixth-place finish at the end of the 2015–16 season, missing out on the play-offs by just two points. Two of his signings, Andy Cook and James Norwood, would go on to form a highly effective partnership for the club over the following two seasons. He was named as the National League Manager of the Month for August 2016. However his contract at Prenton Park was terminated on 18 September 2016, with the club in fifth-place but in poor form and his relationship with the club's supporters remaining consistently tense. He was succeeded by Micky Mellon, who led Tranmere to the 2017 National League play-off Final, where they were beaten by Forest Green Rovers. Return to coaching Brabin was appointed as a coach at EFL League Two side Port Vale by newly appointed manager Neil Aspin in October 2017. In March 2018, he was named as second favourite to take the management position at Wrexham. In September 2018 he left Vale Park to take up the position as assistant manager to Terry McPhillips at EFL League One side Blackpool. He stepped down from the role for "personal reasons" in March 2019. In June 2019, he returned to Luton as one of Graeme Jones's two assistant managers. Brabin departed Luton in March 2020 following Jones's dismissal. In April 2021, he was appointed as the Sporting Director at Cymru Premier team The New Saints. Career statistics Managerial statistics Honours As a player Individual Chester City Player of the Year: 2001–02 Runcorn FA Trophy runner-up: 1993 & 1994 As a manager Individual Conference Premier Manager of the Year: 2008–09 National League Manager of the Month: August 2016 References 1970 births Living people Footballers from Liverpool English footballers England semi-pro international footballers Association football midfielders Association football defenders Stockport County F.C. players Gateshead F.C. players Runcorn F.C. Halton players