FORMER Newport County AFC boss Warren Feeney is back in football management – and he is set to return to Rodney Parade next season.

The 36-year-old, sacked as Exiles chief last September, has been confirmed as assistant to new Crawley Town manager Harry Kewell.

Australian Kewell, 38, replaces Dermot Drummy in the Checkatrade.com Stadium hotseat after the latter left the League Two club by mutual consent earlier this month.

Both Feeney and 56-cap international Kewell were members of the Leeds United squad during the late 1990s and into the new millennium.

Northern Irishman Feeney was never able to break into the Leeds first team, while Kewell became an Elland Road hero during his seven-year spell at the Yorkshire club.

After earning a move to Anfield in 2003, Sydney-born Kewell played in the side that won the Champions League two years later and helped the Reds lift the FA Cup in 2006.

Kewell moved to Turkish club Galatasaray in 2008 and finished his playing career with stints in Qatar and back home in Australia.

His first venture into management came in 2015 when he was appointed manager of Watford’s under-21 team, but that ended on a sour note when he was sacked just last month.

Crawley finished 19th in League Two this season, five points off the relegation zone, beating County 3-1 on home soil in December but losing 1-0 to a resurgent Exiles on April Fools’ Day.

As for Feeney, he originally joined Newport as assistant to John Sheridan before taking the top job in January 2016 after the former had left to manage Oldham Athletic.

Other than a brief period at the start of his tenure as County boss, Feeney’s reign was littered with uninspiring performances and disappointing results.

He kept the club up at the end of the 2015/16 campaign despite a dreadful run of form in the final third of the term.

Standards didn’t improve and he was dismissed following a 1-0 defeat at Grimsby Town with County sitting rock bottom of the Football League.

Meanwhile, former County midfielder Mitch Rose, rel-eased by Mike Flynn after the club's great escape, has spoken about his decision to join League Two rivals Grimsby.

He told the Grimsby Telegraph: "When I got the call last week that this was a potential opportunity for me I jumped at it.

"I spoke to my family and I spoke to my agent immediately, and just asked him to do everything he could to ensure that I got to the club.

"The manager called me last week and introduced himself to me.

"He told me that he'd looked through my games and done some research, and told me that he wanted me on board.

"I was more than happy to come, and I want to be a part of what the club's doing going forward."

He added: "I'm good friends with a few of the lads here and I speak to them regularly, and I would always ask them what the group is like.

"Throughout the season, they've always told me that there's a good group of players here.

"They're a top side, and I believe with the manager being able to have a full season here and bringing in players to strengthen the squad, it will be a team that will go forward and really challenge for promotion next year."

Rose has signed a two-year deal at Blundell Park after making 12 appearances in County colours.