Barnsley have appointed Jose Morais as their new head coach ahead of Tuesday night's clash against Burton Albion (7:45pm).

The Portuguese worked with current Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho at Chelsea and Real Madrid as his assistant and takes the reins at Oakwell having departed AEK Athens last year.

Jose Mourinho and Jose Morais
Jose Mourinho and Jose Morais

Morais joins Barnsley on an 18-month deal and has taken training on Friday morning ahead of the Brewers' visit to south-Yorkshire next week.

Morais arrives with the Tykes in 22nd place, tasked with lifting them out of the relegation zone and securing another season of Championship football.

Barnsley manager Paul Heckingbottom
Barnsley manager Paul Heckingbottom

The ex-Inter Milan assistant succeeds Paul Heckingbottom, who left for Yorkshire rivals Leeds United on controversial terms earlier this month.

Reds' chief-executive Gauthier Ganaye said: "We're really, really pleased to have secured the club's number one target from the start of the process.

"We invited Jose to the Sheffield Wednesday match and began talks immediately with him and his representatives. To be fully transparent, we ran a fair and full interview process.

"We spoke to a lot of head coaches who were both in and out of employment.

"The interviewed candidates were all strong contenders, but the unanimous decision was to appoint Jose who instilled the full board with the belief that he is the right man to lead us up the table, while bringing excitement back to the club with an attacking style and goals for the fans to enjoy.

"We now look ahead to a vital part of the season under Jose's leadership.

"He is excited about taking training straight away and installing his own vision on the squad, which in turn has excited the club and its staff about the remainder of the campaign.

"We fully believe this is the right appointment at the right time, let's get behind them all on Tuesday night against Burton and look for a strong finish to the season!"