Guiseley unveil O'Neill and Bignot as joint managers

Both have previously achieved promotion from the National League North to the National League with Alfreton Town and Solihull Moors respectively, operating under limited resources.

It is something that proved an attraction to newly-relegated Guiseley, who have made the decision to revert to a part-time basis after unsuccessfully going full-time last year.

Meanwhile, ex-Alfreton forward Paul Clayton has joined the club as assistant to O’Neill and Bignot, who had a successful career with clubs like QPR, Crewe Alexandra and Bristol Rovers.

Douglas, said: “We have been a long term admirer of the work Russ did at Alfreton Town along with Nicky Law in gaining promotion to the Premier Division (in 2010-11) and to the brink of League football at their peak.

“The ability of Russ to identify potential and work with players to improve their game and turn them into an integral part of a team will be invaluable to us, as it was at Alfreton Town.

The fact that he was at the club for 10 years, we feel, says everything not only about the great job he did but, also about his loyalty and character as an individual.

“Since leaving Alfreton, Russ has been working for Burnley FC in recruitment and has turned down the opportunity to go back into management on several occasions, so we feel fortunate to have him as part of our new management team.

“Marcus did a similar job at Solihull Moors, gaining promotion from the North to the Premier and in turn attracting the attention of Grimsby Town.”

Bignot’s first managerial appointment came in July 2011 with National League North side Solihull. He enjoyed a successful five-year tenure at the club and led the Moors to a historic promotion to the National League in 2015-16.

He subsequently moved to Grimsby where he spent five months before being sacked in April 2017 and suffered the same fate at previous club Chester last month where he faced an arduous task to save the cash-strapped Blues from National League relegation.