KEITH Gilroy and Courtney Pitt have taken up new roles at Burton Albion Academy.
Following the departure of Sam Rose to Aston Villa Women, Gilroy has filled the vacant position to become Professional Development Phase Lead Coach, with Pitt taking up Gilroy’s previous role of Head of Academy Coaching.
Academy Manager, Dan Robinson, said: “Both are experienced former ex-professional players and have done excellent in their previous roles. We believe that they are in a great place to excel with their new responsibilities.
“Keith has taken the PDP side for the whole of pre-season and we feel he’s a great fit to help develop our most senior players in the Academy, as they aim to progress into the first team setup.
“Courtney has great leadership skills and we’re very confident in his ability to oversee our 9s to 16s programme. He’s well respected here and believe he’ll do a great job in overseeing the development of both our players and coaches.
Former Brewers player and fans’ favourite Gilroy says he is delighted to take up the new role having led the side since pre-season. He said, “I’ve had three years back at the club now and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it.
“Prior to my last role I’d been coaching for a long time and it’s great to be back out on the grass each day. The team are just one step down from the first team and it’s going to be to give the PDP player every chance of getting to that next level.
“With Courtney going into my role it’s helped us to have a smooth handover. We work closely anyway - he’s going down a pathway that he wants to go down and I’m going down a pathway that I’m excited to go back down again.”
Having started his career as a youth player at Chelsea, Pitt went on to play professionally for the likes of Portsmouth, Luton, Boston and Cambridge, joining the club as part of the Professional Player to Coach Scheme.
The scheme was launched as a joint programme from the Premier League, the PFA and the EFL, with the aim of increasing the number of Black and Asian players who transition into full-time coaching roles in the professional game.
“I’m over the moon about the role. When Dan (Robinson) approached me about the chance of overseeing the development of the players and coaches in the Academy, it was something that really excited me. It’s a role that I’m positive about and I like how it will constantly keep things fresh for me.
“The Academy has continued to improve the last two years that I’ve been here and there’s a bright future ahead.”