Swansea City have appointed Alan Sheehan as their head coach on a three-year deal following his successful spell as caretaker boss.
Sheehan impressed after taking charge in February following the departure of Luke Williams, leading Swansea clear of relegation danger in some style.
The 38-year-old Irishman has now been handed the chance to make a long-term impression having been given a first permanent managerial role.
“It’s a privilege to be at this football club and now I have the honour of officially being the head coach,” Sheehan told the club’s official website.
“It’s somewhat surreal. There’s been a really good feeling around the place and I spoke over the last couple of months about building something.
“I’ve been in talks with the ownership for a good while now and I haven’t really changed what I’ve been saying about moving forward. Now is a really good time to move forward.”
Swansea were looking nervously towards the bottom three when Williams left the club on the back of a run of seven defeats in nine Championship matches.
But the Welsh club are now guaranteed to finish in the top half of the table having taken 23 points from Sheehan’s 12 games at the helm.
The former Luton Town and Southampton coach was initially put in charge for five matches before he agreed in March to remain at the helm for the remainder of the season.
Director of football Richard Montague said: “We’ve been very impressed with Alan since he’s taken over as caretaker head coach for a second time.
“It was important that we carried out a thorough and detailed process for appointing our new head coach.
“We had to get this decision right, and we are very happy with the work that’s been done and confident that we’ve picked the best head coach to take our club to the next level.”
Sheehan has always been interested in taking the role on a long-term basis, though he repeatedly stressed that his ideas must align with the club’s view on the way forward.
Former left-back Sheehan joined Swansea as an assistant head coach in the summer of 2023, linking up with then sporting director Paul Watson, who he knew from their time together at Luton.
Having initially been part of Michael Duff’s backroom staff, Sheehan first took over as caretaker boss in December 2023, when he helped Swansea claim 11 points from seven matches before the arrival of Williams in January last year.
Sheehan returned to the backroom team before stepping up to the top job for a second time when Williams said his farewells.
At the time, Swansea were eight points clear of the bottom three in 17th, but they have since delivered a remarkable upturn in form to climb to 11th in the table.
After defeat at Millwall last weekend ended Swansea’s very faint play-off chances, they finish the season with a home game against Oxford United on Saturday (12:30 BST).
Tom Gorringe, Swansea’s CEO, added: “Alan has shown strong leadership and tactical acumen during his time as caretaker head coach.
“Collectively, we believe he is the right person to take Swansea City forward and build on the progress that we’ve made towards the end of this season.
“We’re excited and optimistic about what we can achieve together.”
Confirmation of Sheehan’s backroom staff will be made in due course.
