Michael Appletonplaceholder image
Michael Appleton | Alex Broadway/Getty Images
He played for the Lilywhites been 1997 and 2001
Former Preston North End midfielder Michael Appleton has been sacked by relegation threatened Shrewsbury Town.
The Shrews sit 21st in League Two, just a couple of points above the drop zone after defeat to Cambridge United. That loss was Shrewsbury’s sixth in their last seven games - the previous of which was a 5-1 thrashing at MK Dons.
Appleton spent 10 months in the hot seat at Crowd Meadow having replaced fellow former PNE man, Gareth Ainsworth, in the job. Before stepping into the dugout at Shrewsbury, Appleton had spent 13 months out of management.
It was the 50-year-old’s eighth permanent job as a manager. Appleton has now been in charge of Portsmouth, Blackpool twice, Blackburn, Oxford, Lincoln and Charlton. He also had caretaker stints with West Brom and Leicester.
Appleton, the player, joined PNE in 1997 from Manchester United. He racked up 126 appearances for North End during his three-and-a-half years with the club. Appleton won the Division Two title in 1999/00 and moved to West Brom in 2001.
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