Chairman Andrew Jenkins told the club website: "We have conducted a very thorough process and we would like to thank everybody who contacted us to show interest in this position.

"We are very pleased that we have a reached a successful conclusion with the appointment of a coach who has gained a lot of experience as assistant manager at Rochdale, where he worked closely with the first team and youth squads through what was a very long spell at Spotland.

"His enthusiasm when speaking to us was fantastic to see, and he was very clear in how he wants to approach the job, both in the short term and the long term.

"We're looking forward to seeing him put his plans into action and we are all looking forward to working with him."

Beech joined Rochdale from Huddersfield in 2002, first as a player and later as youth-team manager, assistant manager and caretaker manager before parting company with the club in March.