After a 3-0 defeat to Sutton United on Saturday, Wealdstone made the decision to remove manager Sam Cox from his role.
Cox left his position at Grosvenor Vale with his former side in 17th place in the National League. The 35-year-old had led the Stones to the FA Trophy Quarter Finals with Kidderminster Harriers as their opponents this weekend.
The club confirmed Cox’s departure on Sunday morning in an official statement on their website:
“With so many games still left to play this season, our shared feeling was that a new energy and fresh impetus is urgently required to re-focus everyone’s minds on both the league and cup challenges ahead of us.”
“Like all teams, we’ve had our injury challenges along the way, but we believe our squad can get back to the early-season form that would both secure our National League status and also give us a great chance of reaching Wembley.”
This article will look at five managers that Wealdstone could appoint for the remainder of the season and beyond.
Graham Coughlan – unattached
One name that springs to mind, given his experience fighting relegation, is Graham Coughlan. The 51-year-old has been out of work since his dismissal from Boston United in January.
Coughlan was dismissed from the Lincolnshire side, having accumulated a win percentage of 37.88%. However, the main reason why Coughlan could be a good fit for the National League side is the work he did at Boston during the 2024-25 season.
At the start of March 2025, his Pilgrims side were twelve points from safety, but ten wins from their remaining sixteen games saw them finish three points clear of relegation. In an exclusive chat with the National League Lowdown podcast, Coughlan revealed some of the key things he did that helped them achieve survival:
“It was just trying to instill a bit of confidence and telling them that they can do it. I think they’d been beaten up over the last eighteen, nineteen games previously. Mentally, physically, they were shot.”
“We just had to get a bit of organisation into them, get a little bit of belief into them.”
Given that Wealdstone are on a run of one win in thirteen league games, this impact could be exactly what they need from their new manager. With Coughlan out of work and the Stones in need of fresh impetus, it could be the perfect appointment.
Matt Gray – unattached
A manager who has won the National League title previously could provide the answer to Wealdstone’s managerial search. Matt Gray won the division with Sutton in 2021 and enjoyed two successful seasons in the EFL with the South London side.
Despite a poor stint at Eastbourne Borough earlier this season, where he failed to win any of his ten league games, he could provide good foundations for the West London side to kick on and secure survival this season. At Sutton, Gray predominantly played a 4-4-2 system built on a strong defensive unit and threats from wide positions.
His title-winning season with Sutton came when the club was still semi-professional. This attribute would suit the Stones, given they are one of the few remaining clubs in the fifth tier who are not full-time.
With Gray most likely looking to get back into management, it could be a good appointment for the Stones to provide defensive solidity and avoid relegation.
Scott Davies – Slough Town
If Wealdstone are looking for an up-and-coming manager from the division below, then Scott Davies could be a good option for them. The 37-year-old is currently player-manager at National League South side Slough.
Davies has created a competitive side in the sixth tier despite having one of the smaller budgets in the division. According to Fotmob, throughout his 177 matches in charge, he has accumulated an average of 1.4 points-per-game and a win percentage of 37%.
He has provided a platform for numerous players under his stewardship to develop and improve. Slavi Spasov, Edon Pruti and David Ogbonna have all secured moves to the National League under his management, which could be an attribute that the Stones could benefit from in the future.
However, Davies would be seen as a risky appointment given his lack of experience. Having only managed at National League South level, Wealdstone may be gambling with their fifth-tier status should appointing Davies not end up as a success.
Steve Morison – unattached
Another former Sutton manager who could be in the running for the Stones job is Steve Morison. The former Premier League striker has been out of work since his dismissal from the U’s in September 2025.
Last season, the 42-year-old secured a 12th-place finish in his first managerial experience in the National League. Despite his dismissal at the start of this season, there were some benefits to his spell in South London.
Morison gave opportunities to a number of academy players at Sutton, which might be of interest to Wealdstone in the long run. Both Jack Taylor and Junior Eccleston made their first-team debuts under his management, with Taylor securing a move to League One side Stevenage in January.
This trust in youth could bring long-term benefits to the Stones with the ability to develop young players into valuable assets for the club. On top of this, during his time in League Two with Sutton, Morison almost retained the South London side’s EFL status.
Prior to his appointment, Sutton picked up 0.68 points-per-game which Morison increased to 1.14. His ability to improve a side that was facing relegation is a reason why the former Wales International could be a name that Wealdstone look to.
Darren Sarll – Kamloops United (head of coaching)
A manager who has significant experience in the National League, who could be in line to return to the division, is Darren Sarll. The 43-year-old was dismissed from his spell in charge of Hartlepool in October 2024. This was his last job in the National League, where he won four of the 15 games he was in charge of.
His spells with previous fifth-tier clubs could be the reason why the Stones might look to appoint him. Sarll guided Yeovil Town and Woking to the play-offs and knows how to build a successful side in the National League.
He is known to favour a 4-2-3-1 formation with an emphasis on energetic and a high intensity style of play. This might be the fresh impetus that the Wealdstone board are looking for in order to reach what would seemingly be the safety figure of 50 points.
To reach this total, the Stones will have to pick up 0.93 points per game. This figure is significantly less than the points-per-game totals that Sarll accrued in his last three National League stints.
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