Cliftonville Thread

The appointment comes a day after Tommy Breslin resigned as Reds manager in the aftermath of a 6-1 defeat by the then bottom club Ballymena United.

Lyttle, who spent three years as a reserve player with Celtic, had been coach under Breslin at Solitude.

Donaghy, 58, won 91 caps for Northern Ireland between 1980 and 1994.

He was sent-off during the famous 1-0 win over hosts Spain at the 1982 World Cup finals.

Donaghy spent most of his club career with Luton Town but later played for Manchester United and Chelsea.

After retiring from playing, he had a brief spell as manager of Newry and also had a period in charge of Northern Ireland's Under-19 team.

He had a stint as coach at Cliftonville and as Youth Development Officer at Donegal Celtic.

"Tommy's resignation was a shock and eventually we had to accept it because he had his mind made up," said Cliftonville chairman Gerard Lawlor on Wednesday.

"The players were fully behind him, but he said he could no longer give it 100%.

"Gerard Lyttle is now in temporary charge and we have brought in Mal Donaghy to work alongside him in the interim.

"We will not make a rushed decision on a new manager. We will search high and low for the right candidate."

Lawlor added that he hoped to keep 54-year-old Breslin involved in the club in some other capacity.