Carss returns to Blackburn as Head of Academy Coaching

Carss (left) signed his first pro contract with Blackburn

Carss (left) signed his first pro contract with Blackburn

BLACKBURN ROVERS have appointed former player Tony Carss as their new Head of Academy Coaching.

He replaces David Lowe, who became the club’s first-team coach in the summer, and will work alongside Stuart Jones, who was appointed Head of Academy last month in place of Eric Kinder. Carss has spent the last decade at Huddersfield Town, latterly as their Head of Coaching.

The 41-year-old said: “The facilities and the reputation the Academy has here of getting young players through is something I’m excited by and I’m looking forward to the challenge ahead.

“My time at Huddersfield was great for my development and hopefully I can pass on the experiences that I’ve had to the coaches and players here moving forward. It’s been a good journey so far and it’s the start of a new one.”

Carss signed his first professional contract with Rovers in 1994 as an 18-year-old and went on to play for a number of teams in the lower leagues before injury forced him to retire at the age of 30, which is when he moved into coaching.

Academy chief Jones added: “Tony will play a massive part in relation to the coach and player development process.

“He will bring a vast amount of experience, having been Head of Coaching at Huddersfield. He will come in from a footballing perspective and will work with myself in terms of developing our coaches, looking at our coaching programme and making sure that we’re developing our players.

“We’re going to work hard over the coming months to have a link with the first team in ensuring that the key principles that are implemented up at the Senior Training Centre are continuing right through the Academy and he will have a big part to play in that.”

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