Ex Connah’s Quay Nomads manager appointed Head Coach of Sri Lanka national team

Former Connah’s Quay Nomads Manager Andy Morrison has been appointed Head Coach of the Sri Lankan Men’s International team.

Morrison left Nomads in October last year following a history making six year stint.

He will be joined in Sri Lanka by Assistant Coach, Keith Stevens who made over 550 appearances for Millwall in his playing days and has recently been involved as Assistant Coach of the inaugural championship winning club Brisbane Roar in the Australian Women’s W-League.

The Football Federation of Sri Lanka said: “We have started a new project along with Qatar’s Aspire Foundation.”

“This project is to uplift and build a stronger and modern National Teams in Sri Lanka within 3 years. In this regards, we are happy to announce the appointment of two coaches with excellent background. ”

Morrison’s reign in Deeside began in 2015 with The Nomads bottom of the formerly-known Welsh Premier League.

He led Nomads to thier first ever top-six finish that season and an historic first ever European campaign with a Play Off victory over Airbus in front of a record Deeside Stadium crowd.

That led to a 1-0 aggregate victory over Norwegian side, Stabæk in the UEFA Europa League – the first time that a Welsh side had kept clean sheets across two legs in European competition.

Morrison then went on to lead The Nomads to six successive European campaigns which included a number of historic moments in the club’s history including the famous 3-2 aggregate victory over Scottish side Kilmarnock.

2018 brought the first piece of silverware of Morrison’s tenure with a 4-1 victory in the JD Welsh Cup Final against Aberystwyth Town and the following season would also see an historic run in the Scottish Challenge Cup which ultimately ended with a runners up medal in the final defeat to Ross County.

2020 and 2021 would be the highlight of Morrison’s time at Deeside Stadium, picking up back-to-back JD Cymru Premier and Manager of the Season titles.

Morrison will be looking to build on his experience from Nomads European nights as he now takes on the role of Head Coach through the Qatar based Aspire Foundation.

The aim of the project to uplift and build stronger and more modern national teams in Sri Lanka within three years.

Morrison said on social media: “Looking forward to this incredible opportunity to Manage the Sri lanken national team. Keith and I Fly out on Saturday to begin this new chapter in our life’s .”

Sri Lanka are due to face Uzbekistan, Thailand and the Maldives over the next month as part of qualifying for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.

[Photo: NCM Media/Connah’s Quay Nomads]