STEVE Guinan will be leaving is to leave his role as academy manager at Kidderminster Harriers to become a coach with the Professional Footballers’ Association.

The former Harriers and Hereford United striker led the youngsters to the FA Youth Cup third round for the first time in their history earlier this month, when they lost 2-1 to Blackpool at Aggborough.

Guinan has overseen the development of the club’s rising stars with Kennedy Digie the first academy player to make his first-team debut in the 4-1 FA Trophy first-round win at Bradford Park Avenue.

Digie replaced midfielder Kyle Storer for the final 18 minutes of Monday’s Horsfall Stadium clash.

Guinan arrived at the club in 2011 and went on to score 11 goals from 43 appearances during his first season before becoming a player-coach and then hanging up his boots.

He said: “I have been offered a fantastic opportunity to work with a great organisation and I’m thoroughly looking forward to getting started.

“It’s never nice to leave a job and to have to tell people you are going, especially from a club where I have had some great memories.

“I think I have left the academy in probably the strongest position it has ever been in and Kennedy making his debut for the first team on Monday has ended my time here on a high.

“It is going from strength to strength and, if anything, reaching the third round of the FA Youth Cup has made people sit up and recognise we have a lot of good players at that level.

“Hopefully, now these players can push on further and continue to catch the manager’s eye.”

Harriers return to league action today for the first time since beating Nuneaton 3-1 on Tuesday, December 2, when they host Lincoln City (3pm).

Manager Gary Whild joked: “It’s been over a month since we played at home on a Saturday and hopefully the fans have got all their Christmas shopping out of the way and will be at the match!. “We had a tough game at Lincoln on the first day of the season and they are definitely one of the division’s big clubs.”