Ian Johnson has joined the coaching staff from Marine, where he was the first team coach under Neil Young. He was previously assistant manager at Clitheroe while Simon Howarth was manager there and played alongside Simon at Wigan Athletic, so the two know and compliment each other very well. As a player, Ian started at Wigan Athletic playing in midfield. In 2002, he joined Southport for a season, and moved onto Marine in 2003. The season after a move to Burscough and he finished his career at AFC Liverpool in 2009, before moving into management