Former England coach Russell joins Norwich as set piece specialist
Written by Training Ground Guru — June 9, 2022
ALLAN RUSSELL has been appointed as Norwich City’s first specialist set-piece coach.
The 41-year-old worked with England as a forwards coach from 2017 to 2021 before becoming assistant manager at Aberdeen in 2021/22.
Norwich boss Dean Smith worked with set piece coaches Nicolas Jover and Andreas Georgson during his time with Brentford, who are the pioneers of this specialist role. He then brought in Austin MacPhee as set piece coach during his time as Aston Villa boss.
Russell said: “I’m delighted to have such an important role at what is an all-round first class club. The opportunity to work with Dean, Craig (Shakespeare) and the rest of the staff, with the aim of securing promotion back to the Premier League, was a big draw for me.
“I know what the plans are for the club and how forward-thinking Stuart (Webber) and Neil (Adams) are. There are some really exciting and ambitious plans for how this club can continue to develop and I want to be part of that.
“The opportunity was really enticing. As soon as I spoke to those at the club about the role, it was something I wanted to do straight away. I can’t wait to get stuck in.”
Smith added: “We’re really pleased to have been able to appoint Allan as our new set-piece coach. When I first joined the club, I spoke to Stuart and Neil about bringing in a set-piece coach.
“I’ve worked with them at both Brentford and Aston Villa and I believe that there is a lot of untapped potential for us in this area. We want to score more and concede less from set pieces.
“Throughout football, there are only a select number of clubs working with set-piece coaches. I think it will certainly help us improve in this area and to be able to bring someone with Allan’s credentials to our club is very pleasing.”
