BLACKBURN ROVERS have appointed Preston North End’s John Prince as their new Senior Youth Development Phase Coach as part of a revamp of their Academy staffing structure.

DES RYAN, Arsenal’s Head of Academy Sports Medicine and Athletic Development for the last eight years, is leaving the club to become Director of Coaching and Performance at Setanta College.

PLAYERS from Liverpool and Manchester City’s Academy and women’s teams are to wear special mouthguards during training as part of a landmark study into head injuries in football.

NICKY BUTT has stepped down from his role as Head of Development at Manchester United to pursue “a new professional challenge.”

ASH HIGGINS has returned to Burnley after 18 months at Liverpool to become their Assistant Head of Coaching.

FORMER England in-possession coach Mikey Harris has been appointed to the new position of Under-18s individual coach by Southampton.

NEW research paints a picture of the typical Academy coach as being young, single, childless, underpaid and overworked - but nevertheless still happy in their role.

STEVE GUINAN, Senior Coach Developer at the Football Association, led a research team that looked into the challenges clubs face in recruiting and retaining the best coaches - and the results were intriguing.

WITH the Under-21 Euros starting next week, Youth Hawk have profiled the players who have made it into Aidy Boothroyd's 23-man England squad.

SOUTHAMPTON have hired Lee Skyrme from the Football Association to become their B team Individual Player Coach.

WEST BROM legend Chris Brunt has returned to the club to become Under-23s assistant to Deon Burton.

MANCHESTER UNITED Under-18s coach Neil Ryan says winning is “just a bonus” for his side and that preparing players for senior football is the most important thing.