James Beattie joins Swans coaching staff

Swansea City have appointed former England striker James Beattie as a first-team coach.
The 37-year-old, who is an ex-team-mate of Garry Monk while at Southampton, will work under the Swans boss and assistant-manager Pep Clotet and alongside fellow first-team coaches Kristian O'Leary and Alan Curtis. His prime responsibility will be coaching the club's first-team forwards.
Beattie spent a week with the Swans earlier in the season as he observed training sessions at Fairwood in preparation for a forthcoming game.
He already has coaching experience following a player/coach stint with Accrington Stanley, before going on to take the manager's job with the League Two club.



"James will come in as a first-team coach alongside Kristian O'Leary and Alan Curtis, but will be given specific responsibility to work on a technical level with our attacking players," said Monk.
"I've known James for a long time. He is intelligent, has a great knowledge of the game from his experiences as a player, coach and manager; plus he thinks about the game in the same way as myself.
"He has some bright ideas and, despite already having a fantastic knowledge of the game, he is still looking to learn at every opportunity.
"I'm constantly trying to create and improve all areas of the first team environment with young, talented and up-and-coming staff. That's not just the playing squad, but the backroom staff as well.
"James fits that criteria perfectly and with the experience he's gained over the years, I'm sure the players will benefit greatly by tapping into his knowledge."
Beattie's playing career spanned nearly two decades with the former striker representing eight different clubs and winning five caps for England.
He made his professional debut for hometown club Blackburn Rovers in 1996 before moving to Southampton two years later, where he became a fan-favourite on the south coast.
Beattie spent seven years with the Saints, making 233 appearances and scoring 76 goals - including a fruitful 2002-03 campaign in which he was the Premier League's highest English goalscorer.
It was during this time that he won the first of his five England caps, making his international debut in a friendly against Australia in February 2003.
He completed a £6million switch to Everton in 2005 but after struggling to nail down a place in the starting line-up the striker moved to Sheffield United where he scored 34 goals in 62 games.
Beattie returned to the Premier League with Stoke in 2009 before moves to Rangers, Blackpool (loan) and a return to Sheffield United.
However, the striker ended his playing days at League Two side Accrington Stanley in a player-coach capacity and was given the manager's job on a full-time basis in May 2013 following the departure of Leam Richardson.
Stanley finished 15th in Beattie's first full season in charge, but he departed the Lancashire club just six games into the 2014-15 season with the club sitting 21st in League Two.