Former Peterborough United and Middlesbrough man named Morecambe's new assistant manager

Having previously announced the arrivals of midfielder Mo Sangare and head of physical performance Ian Hutton, three new faces were confirmed late on Wednesday evening.

The first of those was Lee Tomlin, who will be the new assistant boss to Ashvir Singh Johal at the Mazuma Mobile Stadium.

Tomlin, whose playing career included spells at Peterborough United, Middlesbrough, Bristol City and Cardiff City, replaces Danny Grainger after his departure.

Johal said: “Lee is someone I have known for a very long time. I knew that when I became a manager Lee was the person I wanted to be my assistant manager.

“He had a fantastic playing career and has played in all the divisions of English professional football, including the Premier League.

“He’s now gone into coaching after playing and he’s worked at some great clubs.

“Lee has experience at Leicester City and then he was at Sheffield United, so for me to bring him here as assistant manager is something that I’m really proud of.

“Lee’s expertise of the game and playing at the highest level, that’s something that I will tap into and he’s going to be a big part of our coaching team.

“Straight away, you can see his mentality, how he is around the place, how he is with the players.

“He is someone that I can trust to take us to the next level, so I’m really looking forward to working with him and I think he is someone that will add real value to our team.”

Tomlin’s appointment was followed by confirmation that Harrison Panayiotou and Raheem Conte had joined the playing staff.

A Saint Kitts and Nevis international, 30-year-old Panayiotou’s career has taken him to a number of clubs at home and abroad.

As well as featuring domestically for teams including Barrow and AFC Aldershot Town, Panayiotou has also played for Greek side Aittitos Spata, Gibraltar team FC Magpies and Maltese Premier League outfit Sirens.

“It was important for us that we had players in the building who have experience in the league so he understands exactly what it takes to win games at this level,” Johal said of Panayiotou.

“As equal to that, from a style of play point of view, he’s exactly what we’re looking for.

“We’re looking for someone who is going to press aggressively, who’s going to give us all in the games, someone who is never going to give up and win the ball. He’s got the quality to drop and link play between the lines, or who can run in behind.

“He’s someone who we think can be really effective in the final third and help us create and score goals this season, and hopefully help the team play an entertaining brand of football.”

Conte was a young player with Brentford and QPR before joining Cardiff City in the summer of 2022.

The 22-year-old played five games for Cardiff, as well as having a loan spell at Woking, before being released by the Bluebirds at the end of last season.

Johal said: “I’m delighted that Raheem has joined us at Morecambe. He is someone whose career I have followed for some time now.

“He has had good exposure to Cardiff’s first team, playing in the Championship and EFL Cup.

“Raheem is a versatile player. He’s a midfielder but he can also play full-back.

“We see him as a full-back. We think he has all the attributes that can help us get to the next level.

“He’s athletic, he’s quick, but most important is his intelligence and his football brain to help us be successful on the football pitch.

“We think he will really enjoy our training processes, how we work and we think we can help take him to the next level as a player – but we really think he can help us with our aims of being in the EFL again.”