Bristol Rovers make key appointment of ex-Manchester City staff member

Bristol Rovers have made another significant appointment after Damien Broad was announced as the clubs new Head of Coaching.

The Gas over the course of the last few months have made several changes to the coaching structure at the club.

As a result of their promotion to League One, more resources have been made available to employ more coaches to help the day-to-day running of the club.

Glenn Whelan joined Joey Barton’s coaching staff as a player-coach, whilst Danny Ventre also joined at the same time.

David Coles recently returned as Head of Goalkeeping, whilst Eddy Jennings now has a permanent position as the Head of Operations, having worked in a consultancy role.

Now the club have looked to improve their academy set-up with the appointment of Broad, who joins from a similar role at League Two outfit Newport County.

Announcing his own appointment, he tweeted: “Delighted to be joining the family @Official_BRFC in my role as Head of Coaching, supporting the staff and players throughout their Academy journey.

“A big thanks to @ByronAnthony84 and @thgorringe for the opportunity and welcome.”

Tom Gorringe, the CEO of Rovers, responded: “Welcome to the team @DamienBroad #UTG”

Broad has worked at Newport as their Academy Manager for three years, having made the step up from being their Under-18’s coach, which in total made for four years at Rodney Parade.

He replaced Byron Anthony who left Newport to work as a coach at Swansea City, but now the two will work at the club at the same time having crossed paths previously.

He has also worked in senior management, managing Welsh side Pontypridd United for five years, where he organised glamour friendlies against Deportivo La Coruña and Valencia.

It was at Pontypridd in which he caught the attention of Premier League giants Manchester City. He worked for a year out in China as their international lead, working both players and coaches in the Hainan Province.

The appointment of a Head of Coaching is a step further for Rovers in to improving their academy setup, which currently lacks an Under-21’s team, which is a detriment to a section of the first-team squad.

The likes of Jerry Lawrence, Jed Ward and Ryan Jones, are only afforded opportunities in competitions like the EFL Trophy, or have had to move out on loan to get valuable game time.

Last month however, first-team boss Joey Barton spoke of his desire to reintroduce the Under-21’s team, which was disbanded after their relegation to the fourth tier.

He said: “There’s no point in us having an academy if we don’t have that finishing school, it’s like having a primary school and a high school but no sixth form before you go to university.”