Former Mourinho assistant Morais takes over at Barnsley

Jose Morais worked under Jose Mourinho at Benfica, Inter, Real Madrid and Chelsea and now has the top job at Barnsley.

Barnsley have appointed Jose Morais, a former assistant of Jose Mourinho, as their new head coach on an 18-month contract.

Morais, who was most recently at the helm of AEK Athens, worked under Mourinho at Benfica, Inter and Real Madrid, as well as during both his spells at Chelsea.

The 52-year-old is the successor to Paul Heckingbottom, who left for Leeds United last week. His first match will come at home to fellow strugglers Burton Albion on Tuesday.

"We're really, really pleased to have secured the club's number one target from the start of the process," Barnsley chief executive Gauthier Ganaye told the club's official website.

"We invited Jose to the Sheffield Wednesday match [last Saturday] and began talks immediately with him and his representatives. 

"We spoke to a lot of head coaches who were both in and out of employment. The interviewed candidates were all strong contenders, but the unanimous decision was to appoint Jose who instilled the full board with the belief that he is the right man to lead us up the table, whilst bringing excitement back to the club with an attacking style and goals for the fans to enjoy."

Barnsley sit 22nd in the Championship, one point adrift of safety.