Lace takes on pioneering Chief of Staff role at Birmingham City

“I had Jen visiting me a couple of months ago to see if everything was going well with the kids and also family,” Selles said. “I think you cannot do things alone in the world of football and everyone needs a good team around them, especially managers. 

“We need the teams around us to take care of a lot of things and mental health is very important.”

Although Chief of Staff is new role in English football, it is more common in US sports, with the incumbent acting as a key advisor and strategist, supporting the leadership in various aspects of operations, planning and execution. 

Writing on LinkedIn, Lace said: “After a great consultant role last year, I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as Chief of Staff at Birmingham City.

“As a performance psychologist stepping into a leadership, environment, people development and co-strategy role, it is going to be a great opportunity.

“Adding a different specialist skillset to football leadership is unique and I’m thankful for the trust that people at this club have put into this. “

She added that it was “a relatively new role in professional football” and would showcase the club’s ethos of “innovation and dare to be different.”

Lace added: “Everyone at the club and above were supportive of me being a female in the men’s game and being pregnant last season and have been fundamentally supportive and encouraging of me returning to a professional role whilst balancing mum demands to get to this point.”

Meanwhile, Rich Carpenter has joined Birmingham as Director of Operations, having been Head of Operations at Ipswich Town for the last three years. Carpenter has more than 20 years’ experience in operations and facilities management at the likes of West Brom, Aston Villa and Liverpool.

He will be responsible for operational management across the club’s stadium and training ground.