Kolo Toure: Wigan Athletic appoint ex-Arsenal defender as manager

Wigan Athletic have appointed a new manager in the shape of Kolo Toure.

Richardson was dismissed by the club earlier this month.

The Ivorian has been a coach for five years at Celtic and has never been in a management role.

The first game for Toure will be at Millwall.

"We are delighted that Kolo has become the new manager of Wigan Athletic Football Club, and the board are pleased that he is the man to take us forward," chief executive Malachy Brannigan told the club website.

In recent weeks, we received a high caliber of applicants for the manager's job, and we looked to appoint the right person for the role.

"From the beginning, it was obvious to us that he had bought into the values of the club, with his enthusiasm, knowledge and immense desire to work and be part of Wigan Athletic shining throughout the process."

Wigan sacked Richardson after a return of one point from seven Championship matches, having only given him a new three-year contract after their League One title in his first full season in charge.

Two weeks ago, the younger Toure ruled himself out of contention for the Latics role.

In 2003-04, Toure was part of the team that won the title with Manchester City.

He retired from Celtic's coaching staff in September of 2016 after helping them win the title without a loss.

Kevin Betsy and Ashvir Johal have joined Rob Kelly's coaching staff.