The decision means David Sullivan leaves Bower Fold but club chairman Rob Gorski stressed that his departure was on amicable terms.
He said: “Sully has done a good job but with all due respect to him the lads in the academy can now look forward to being coached by a former Premier League player and Welsh international.”
Moving on to first-team matters, the chairman added: “I want to give Simon the opportunity to keep the main players and then, over the summer, bring in new players — better players — and get the squad strong enough to be pushing for the play-offs next year as a minimum.
Before taking questions, Haworth emphasised the importance of the academy and the work that will be done to attract talented youngsters to Bower Fold, and to improve the set-up so that they don’t choose other clubs in the Tameside area. Among his staff will be former Stockport and Manchester City keeper Carlo Nash.
Approaches have already been made to colleges as far away as Huddersfield and Rochdale, and Haworth is hoping to use his League contacts to bring in players released by clubs such as Bury and Rochdale.
“The academy is a key part of the club. I want to see boys of 16, 17 and 18 as an asset and able to come into the first team when I’m short on numbers,” said Haworth.
“Historically, Stalybridge Celtic has been a club of good standing but, to be brutal, others have passed you by. We’ve got to go out and be more known and more hard.
Questioned about loan players, Haworth replied it was likely several would be leaving Bower Fold, among them James Caton and Scott Wilson. Goalkeeper Jake Turner’s situation will be reviewed next month but he definitely wanted to keep centre-back Chris Smalley, finances permitting.
He also has hopes of bringing in a loan player from a Premier League club at the start of January.
Haworth went on to talk of his commitment to free-flowing football, but asked fans to bear in mind that many of the players are young and capable of mistakes. He also asked people to think about what they shout at the team as vicious criticism could make them fearful of playing football and breed a siege mentality.
As for his vision for Stalybridge Celtic, Haworth said: “As an outsider from a professional background I have to say things have got to change, but success won’t some overnight.
“When I leave here I want the club to be in a better place than I found it so that it can grow, grow, grow and not just yo-yo.
“I feel your pain over what you’ve seen in the last few years. You’ve seen so much bad stuff. But you’ve got to try and realise the types of things we’ll try. I know it might sound like another false dawn but things are moving forward.”