Coventry City manager Tony Mowbray has said that Mark Venus whom he hopes to bring in this week, will be the club's Technical Director.
Speaking to the Coventry Telegraph's Andy Turner, Mowbray said: I haven’t got any new members of staff on board yet. It’s a work in progress; I am talking to the club on that and I’ve had assurances that they are trying to make it happen.
“Mark Venus will hopefully be coming in a different role – when it all gets signed off I think we’re going to call him technical director.
"For the last 11 or 12 years Mark has been alongside me while I am on the grass with my boots on but I want to try to develop a role because the modern game has moved on and to put the infrastructure in place that I know I want the scouting department has to get up and running.
“Mark’s not a scout, but he can put the structure in place.In the old days there was a little old guy in a flat cap sitting at the back of the stand with a piece of paper and pen who might like the look of the No.10.
“He’s a confidant who I constantly talk football with; someone I can phone after midnight knowing that he’s going to pick the phone up because I can’t sleep and I’m thinking about the balance in central midfield, whether we’re going to invert the triangle or bring the lad off the left wing inside and get the left-back flying past him.
“I think he will be crucial for the building of the infrastructure of the club from the bottom up, and that’s going to be exciting for the club.
“One day when I leave, however many years away that is, I am very sure the club will be in a stronger position than it is now in terms of league position and league status and it will hopefully have value in its players.
"Players who we want in contract will be in contract with value in them and no-one will be able to walk away on free transfers if we think there is value in them.
“Just build the team and put a structure into when we sell players, when we keep players, when we think they’re over the top and when we put them into the team.
"We need to build the squad with some time lines in it so when contracts expire we replace, or we need to sell now because he’s only got a year left. Is he someone we can move on because we think we can get better for less money?
“All of those things because when the manager is on the grass and he’s got another game in three days time someone needs to oversee the whole structure, and in my opinion, Veno is very good at that.”
More on this - http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/sport/football/football-news/mark-venus-joining-coventry-city-9289138