Sheffield Wednesday icon to balance new coaching job alongside Sheffield United role
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Sheffield-born Mark Smith, who became a fan favourite at Hillsborough for his committed performances between 1977 and 1987, has taken on the role of first team coach at non-league Ossett United.
Smith has coached at Wednesday, acting as under-18s manager for three years and overseeing the first team as caretaker manager in a League Cup defeat to Coventry City in 2004, between the reigns of Chris Turner and Paul Sturrock.
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Hide AdHaving left Wednesday in 2006, he worked at cross-city rivals Sheffield United from 2007, working in their youth set-up for some years before returning first as womens coach and then as the Blades’ loans manager in 2018, a role he will balance alongside his responsibilities at part-time Ossett.
Smith also worked as academy manager at Chesterfield, where he also acted as caretaker manager between the spells of Dean Saunders and fellow Owls legend Danny Wilson in 2015.
He will work alongside manager Wayne Benn at Ossett, a highly ambitious West Yorkshire club currently playing in the Northern Premier League Division One North West at step eight.
They were formed in 2018 as the result of a merger between Ossett Albion and Ossett Town.
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Hide AdBenn said: “Bringing in someone like Mark will set the tone from the very beginning of our new campaign.
“The returning lads will be joining up with some new faces and Mark will be working to make sure a solid team bond is forged immediately. He has some great ideas and his CV speaks for itself. Very exciting to get to work.”