Wigan Athletic confirm exit of former Leeds United, Celtic and Southampton man as compensation package agreed

Crainey joined Wigan in 2022, taking on the role of lead professional phase coach. He then stepped up assist Latics boss Shaun Maloney with first-team affairs, although has now departed.

A compensation package has been agreed with Bolton, who have appointed Crainey as the club’s joint-assistant manager. The move has reunited Crainey with Bolton boss Evatt, who he played alongside at Blackpool.

Evatt said: “After some pretty lengthy reviewing of the season, we have a clear plan and idea of how we want to improve things on and off the pitch and this appointment is in addition to what we already have. I think now as a staffing structure we've got all boxes ticked.

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“In the review of every season you think about how we can improve, how we get better and what are we missing in terms of our staffing skillset. We've had discussions about having a more holistic approach to the staff and the skill set I feel we are missing Stephen, who I have known for a long, long time, can provide.

“He’s an extremely good character, a strong character who knows what it takes to win and will be extremely additive to the rest of the staff, so I think it’s a very important appointment for us.”

Crainey is a familiar face in West Yorkshire, having amassed 62 appearances for Leeds between 2004 and 2007. He also counts the likes of Celtic and Southampton among his former clubs.