FORMER Wrexham midfielder Anthony Barry has been confirmed as assistant manager to Thomas Tuchel - England’s new head coach.

German Tuchel, who becomes the third non-Englishman to hold the post after Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello, is reunited with Barry and will take up the role on January 1 ahead of the World Cup qualifying campaign.

Barry, now aged 38, had two spells at The Racecourse during his playing days but the first was extremely short-lived!

Brought in by Dean Saunders following his release by arch rivals Chester City in January 2010, Barry put pen to paper on an 18-month deal.

However, Barry left the Reds less than one week later without playing a game after asking to be released from his contract and he went on to sign for Conference North side Fleetwood Town after being offered significantly more money.

After spells with Forest Green Rovers and Accrington Stanley, Barry joined Wrexham - then managed by Gary Mills - for a second time in June 2016.

Barry made 31 appearances for Wrexham in the National League in 2016-17, scoring two goals, but he was released by the Reds at the end of the campaign and he moved into coaching after hanging up his boots.

As well as stints on coaching teams at Wigan, Republic of Ireland and Belgium, Barry previously worked with Tuchel at Chelsea and Bayern Munich and is currently assistant to Portugal boss Roberto Martinez.