Former Premier League star quietly resigns from new job after just 20 days

Neil Redfearn, who scored Barnsley's first-ever goal in the top flight, took charge of Farsley Celtic last month.

However the former Leeds United and Rotherham boss stuck around for less than three weeks before packing his bags again.

A 6-1 defeat in their last match against Needham Market at the weekend has left the club sitting 22nd in the National League North and desperately scrambling to avoid the drop.

However, Redfearn wasn't in the dugout for the loss and they were instead helmed by women's manager Izzy Roads and youth coach Phil Lake.

That's because he quietly stepped down from his post last week.

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He told the Telegraph and Argus that he "wishes all the Farsley supporters good luck going forward" and "thanks the players for their best efforts".

However problems on the pitch are just the tip of the iceberg at the non-league club.

Farsley Celtic are yet to play a single game at their home stadium, the Citadel, this season.

After removing the pitch at the end of the 2023/04 season, the implementation of an artificial playing surface has been delayed.

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As a result, the Celt Army have been forced to play their home matches 70 miles away at the Tarmac Silverlands Stadium - the home of Buxton FC.

It means that Farsley Celtic are effectively groundsharing with a National League North rival.

As a result, fans have boycotted several games this season while accusing owner Paul Barthorpe of trying to 'ruin' the club.

This is due to the belief that he is more interested in trying to sell their stadium to housing developments, something that Barthorpe has since denied.

He said: "People saying I don't care, I'm destroying the club, I'm not investing in the club, I have ulterior motives which clearly could not be further from the truth!

"This has been my life for almost six years and anyone who owns a business and commits everything to it knows the unconditional love you have for it!

"If my motivation was to run it into the ground I wouldn't have kept investing to the levels I have on a weekly basis."

Barthorpe added: "There have been accusations of a lack of information being shared and a lack of clarity.

"The truth is I have had a number of death threats hand delivered to my home address, I have been physically attacked, I've had my car damaged three times, my car tyres slashed, items thrown at my house.

"And a number of other incidents that have happened directly after club posts or directly after other posts that are damaging and critical and as usual shared across multiple social media sites.

"All of this is currently under investigation and we have been therefore advised to keep our posts to a minimum, so as not to escalate these incidents."

Farsley Celtic are next in action on Saturday, February 15 when they travel to take on Leamington.