Gary Bowyer agrees two-year Salford deal in U-turn after deciding against Derby return

GARY BOWYER has agreed a stunning two-year deal to remain as Salford City boss instead of returning to Derby County.

The League Two team have confirmed Bowyer is staying at Moor Lane, just days after he claimed he was rejoining Derby as U23s boss.

Bowyer took charge of Salford in March until the end of the season to save their season following Richie Wellens’ sacking.

The tactician secured 20 points from 11 games, leaving Salford just two points shy of a play-off place.

But Bowyer revealed on Sunday he was heading back to Pride Park to resume his duties as U23s chief.

However, Salford announced in a shock statement on Wednesday that Derby have allowed Bowyer to leave the club permanently.

And he has now put pen to paper on a two-year contract with Salford in the hope of building on his impressive work, culminating in April’s Manager of the Month award.

Bowyer beamed: “I’m really excited, it’s all happened very, very quickly and I’m delighted that it has.

“I have to thank Wayne Rooney and Derby County for their role that they have played in all of this, they’ve been magnificent for me.

“Now it’s a case of getting to work very quickly, everybody was very accommodating when I was here and made a real impression on me in the short space of time so it was a very easy decision.

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“We’re really excited now leading into the summer, obviously there is a lot of work to do in terms of organising pre-season games, getting to work on the squad.

“We’ve got a real good core group here, and we’ll be looking to add the right characters and the right players to hopefully improve the squad further and give us a real opportunity going into next season.”

Salford captain Ash Eastham added: “The appointment of the Manager on a permanent basis is fantastic news for the Club going forward!

“His positivity, professional demands and man management skills have been reflected in the team’s performances and results since he joined the club, and we are looking forward to working further with Gary next season.

“As players we now need to physically and mentally re-charge for what I feel will be a season for our fans to be hugely excited about when the league campaign returns.”