New first-team coach for Peterborough United

Tonge will work closely with Posh boss Grant McCann and his assistant Cliff Byrne and could take his place in the dugout in tomorrow’s Championship fixture with Swansea City at London Road.

Tonge was a coach at Barnsley when they won promotion to the Championship under manager Daniel Stendel in the 2018-19 season. He followed Stendel when he became manager of Scottish Premiership side Hearts the following season, but the pair left Tynecastle in June 2020.

Tonge, who made over 200 appearances as a player for a host of clubs including Barnsley, Rotherham United and Torquay United, began his coaching career at Oakwell in 2015 when he was appointed as Assistant Youth Development Phase Coach before taking the Lead role for the following two seasons.

McCann said: “I am delighted to add Dale Tonge to our coaching staff. He is a very well respected young and hungry coach who will work closely with myself, Cliff and the rest of the coaching staff. Dale played a key role in helping Barnsley secure promotion to the Championship from League One.

“We are also looking to add further to the first team staff in the coming weeks to make sure we are as strong and competitive behind the scenes as we are on the pitch.”

Previous Posh boss Darren Ferguson appointed Matthew Etherington as his first-team coach, but he returned to the post of under 23 manager when McCann came back to the club.