Ex-Birmingham City, Celtic and Blackburn star land new manager's job | OneFootball

Paul Caddis has landed himself a new job in non-league, and Birmingham City fans will be keeping a keen eye on his progress.

The jump from the pitch to the dugout is one that several former footballers like to take, and the Championship has been the perfect place for new managers to make their bow after hanging up their boots - particularly in the last few years.

The likes of Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney have both taken on the challenge of the second tier in recent years, with varying success, as well as Tom Cleverley, Michael Carrick and Ryan Mason. However, there is also a number of those who played in the Championship, who are now making a name for themselves in non-league.

Robbie Savage is perhaps the greatest example of this in recent times, with the former Derby County and Leicester City man overseeing proceedings at both Macclesfield and now Forest Green Rovers, while Adam Clayton is in charge of Northern Premier League Division One East side Matlock Town.

Now, a familiar face to Birmingham City and Blackburn Rovers fans has taken on a new challenge in Norfolk, and Blues supporters in particular will be extremely keen to see how he gets on in the coming weeks, months and potentially years.

Former Birmingham City favourite handed new managerial role with non-league side

Paul Caddis is a name synonymous with Blues, thanks to one extraordinary moment in the 2013/14 campaign. However, he had quite the career away from St. Andrew's with appearances for Celtic, Swindon Town and Blackburn among others.

However, he retired from playing the game in 2021, and has since moved into management. His first role came with Hereford, and he was appointed the head coach of the Bulls in April 2023, before he was eventually sacked in February 2026.

Now, Caddis has taken on the responsibility of managing King's Lynn Town in the National League North. Based in Norfolk, the Linnets are five points above the drop zone, and they will be hoping that their new boss can keep them away from danger in his 12 games in charge before the end of the season.

His first game in charge will come against Marine at home on Saturday, and a victory could see his new side climb from 19th to as high as 16th by the time 5:30pm comes about.

Paul Caddis is remembered for his crucial header for Birmingham City vs Bolton Wanderers

The 37-year-old made 160 appearances for Birmingham between 2012 and 2017, scoring 16 goals from full-back during his time in the West Midlands. However, one of those strikes proved to be more crucial than any other, and it came in May 2014.

In what was an extremely difficult season, Blues headed into the final game of the campaign needing a point away to Bolton Wanderers to avoid relegation to League One. But, they soon found themselves 2-0 down and in need of a miracle.

Nikola Zigic pulled a goal back for Birmingham, before Caddis headed home in the final minute to save his team from the drop and keep the 2011 League Cup winners in the Championship despite them looking doomed up to that point.

While Blues failed to push on in the following years, who knows what would have happened had the Scottish defender not found the back of the net that day, and it proved to be one of the most vital goals in the club's recent history.