Former Lincoln City assistant Danny Butterfield has been sacked by National League side Eastleigh.
The 44-year-old leaves the Hampshire club alongside manager Kelvin Davis after a poor start to the season.
Butterfield’s Eastleigh Exit
Butterfield had been working as Davis’s assistant since February 2024, with the pair guiding Eastleigh to a 13th-placed finish last term. This campaign has been less convincing, with just three wins from nine games, leaving them in 16th, and Saturday’s 3-1 home defeat to Braintree Town proving the final straw.
A club statement confirmed:
“Eastleigh Football Club can today confirm that we have terminated the contract of first team manager Kelvin Davis and assistant manager Danny Butterfield with immediate effect.
“We would like to thank Kelvin and Danny for their commitment and efforts for the club during their tenure and wish them both all the best for the future.”
From Sincil Bank to Silverlake
Imps supporters will remember Butterfield from his time at the LNER Stadium, where he arrived in December 2022 as Mark Kennedy’s assistant. He played a role during Kennedy’s tenure before leaving the club in October 2023 when the manager was dismissed.
That Lincoln spell came after a varied coaching career which included roles at Southampton’s academy, MK Dons and Macclesfield Town. His time at Sincil Bank followed a brief return to Southampton as loans manager, with his switch to Lincoln reuniting him with Kennedy.
Butterfield also enjoyed a long playing career, making over 100 appearances for Crystal Palace and featuring for clubs including Grimsby Town, Charlton Athletic, Southampton, Bolton Wanderers and Exeter City.
Danny Butterfield
I always found Danny decent to chat to, although, as with most assistants, my direct contact was very limited. Back in the day, I did get to interview David Kerslake, but other than that, assistant head coaches tend to beaver away in the background, not usually the focus of interviews.
Danny was there on the evening we interviewed Mark Kennedy, when he (now infamously) had a pop at me for my negative review, only to say the same things I wrote on stage. Danny didn’t say much then, but he was on stage for the interview, and I seem to recall him being engaging.
Obviously, he left the club as part of the only management team dismissed since Gary Simpson in 2014.