Clarke, who penned a three-year deal at Banks's Stadium, will be joined in swapping Bristol for Walsall by Marcus Stewart and Brian Dutton, both of whom have agreed to join the club as Assistant Coaches.
Brian will also assume the role of Professional Phase Development Coach. Both men worked with new Saddlers boss Darrell Clarke for several years at Bristol Rovers and will be a welcome arrivals as the new boss is able to begin our upcoming rebuild with some farmilliar faces at his disposal.
Former Sunderland striker Stewart, 46, was first team coach at Exeter before joining Rovers as a development coach in 2012 and served as Clarke’s number two during their rise to League One. Dutton, 34, was handed the captaincy at Salisbury by Clarke, who brought him to Bristol Rovers in the role of Assistant U23 Squad Coach in March 2017 before moving on to First Team Coach.
Whilst there are a couple of arrivals, there are also several departures as First Team Coach Andy Davies, Goalkeeping Coach Michael Oakes and Strength & Conditioning Coach Nick Barnett have all left the club, as has Chief Scout Gary Jenkins, who will be taking up a similar position at Bradford City.
John Ward will also be leaving the club when his contract expires at the end of June. We join the club in thanking everyone for their hard work and effort during their time at the Banks’s Stadium.
In the Academy, the club also confirmed that Academy Manager Graham Biggs has left the club and Mark Bradley will return to his role as First Team Strength & Conditioning Coach after 12 months with the Academy.