FORMER HIBS BOSS MAKES SURPRISE MOVE TO ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE SIDE ON SHORT-TERM BASIS

The 46-year-old – who had a spell in charge of the Magpies’ rivals Sunderland prior to arriving at Easter Road – has been appointed interim Head of Coach Development with the Newcastle academy.

Ross will work closely with Academy Director Steve Harper and the wider management team to ‘provide support to the Academy’s coaching structure and players in the under-9 to under-16 age groups’, according to the English club.

Harper said: "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." Ross arrives to help fill the gap left by Neil Winskill’s move to work alongside Ben Dawson with the club’s under-21 squad, taking on the role of Professional Development Coach/Methodology Lead. Previously he had been Head of Coach Development.

Ross, who led Hibs to the Scottish Cup final, League Cup semi-finals, and third in the Scottish Premiership in 2021, has taken charge of more than 300 games in his management career at Alloa, St Mirren, and Dundee United as well as Hibs and Sunderland.

He hasn’t had a management role since his dismissal by the Tannadice club in the wake of a 9-0 home defeat by Celtic but has been linked with a string of vacancies including jobs at Hartlepool and Motherwell. However, he is currently studying for an MSc in Sports Directorship and has hinted on more than one occasion that, while he hasn’t ruled out a return to management, he would be open to taking up a less hands-on role at a club.

2023-03-31T11:07:16Z dg43tfdfdgfd