Jack Ross Joins Newcastle United as Interim Head of Coach Development
- The former Hibernian and St Mirren manager brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to his new role with the Magpies
Jack Ross is back in football as the interim Head of Coach Development at English Premiership giants Newcastle United.
The 46-year-old Football Careers client has been involved in a host of consultancy projects since his exit as boss of Scottish Premiership club Dundee United in August of last year. Work with the English League Managers Association (LMA) and the Scottish Football Association (SFA) has been enriching as former Alloa Athletic, St Mirren, Sunderland, and Hibernian manager Jack weighs up his next career move.
Now he is back in a full-time short-term role with the Geordie giants and Newcastle’s Academy Director Steve Harper reasoned:
“Jack is a very experienced manager, coach and coach educator. His knowledge and experience will be of huge benefit to us during his time here.”
Jack will work closely with the club’s Academy Director and Harper’s management team to provide support to the Academy’s coaching structure and players in the Under-9 to Under-16 age groups.
Ross’ arrival at the Toon follows predecessor Neil Winskill’s deployment to a coaching role with the Magpies’ Under-21 side. And it is a great solution for now to give a gifted coach mentor the chance to influence colleagues on a day-to-day basis.
UEFA Pro Licence coach Ross brings a unique football and academic skillset to his new challenge. Jack has an MA in Economics from Edinburgh’s prestigious Heriot-Watt University and over the last two years, he has completed an MSc in Sports Directorship with the Global Institute of Sport.
In seven months out of the game, Ross has had time to reflect on what he does next. That may not turn out to be in the role of a Head Coach as Jack stressed in an exclusive interview with us earlier this year. Jack said then:
“Right now I am looking at the big wide world and trying not to jump at the first job I am offered. I have worked at two big clubs in Sunderland and Hibernian and been burned a little bit.
“There are times when you wonder if you want to go back into all. I am analytical in how I think, so you look forensically at the decisions that lead to you losing your job.
“I had clear KPIs at Hibs: they wanted to finish in the top four of the league, qualify for Europe, be in the semi-finals of Cups and reduce the average age of the squad while creating sellable assets. So we got to a point where we did all that and then we had a bad run and it didn’t matter.”
Coaches in Newcastle’s Academy will now get the benefit of the experience of a coach and educator who knows the peaks and troughs of their own hectic lives in the industry from every angle. And that can only be a win-win for both sides of this imaginative appointment.
