Ipswich Town have appointed recruited Bristol City academy chief Gary Probert as their new 'Director of Football Operations'.

Probert becomes the fourth Robins staff member to be reunited with chief executive Mark Ashton at Portman Road, following on from Luke Werhun (chief operating officer), Andy Rolls (director of performance) and Andy Costin (head of sports science).

Having first joined Bristol City in 2013 as a 'lead foundation phase coach', Probert was promoted to the role of academy manager by Ashton in 2016 and helped oversee the progress of homegrown players such as Lloyd Kelly, Bobby Decordova-Reid and Joe Bryan - all of whom went on to make big money moves to Premier League clubs.

Officially joining Ipswich on November 1, he will head up the club's recruitment, academy, analysis, U23s and loans programme.


"I’m looking forward to getting started," he told the club website.

"I think it’s a really exciting project to find out about, add some value to and play a part in.

"From afar, it looked like something big was happening here. Having spoken to Mark in the last few days, it’s brought it home to me how inspirational and big it could be.

"Having a relationship with people I’ve worked with previously is advantageous for hopefully hitting the ground running.

"The role will help support Lee O’Neill (general manager of football operations) and the academy, and help that transition from playing in the academy to senior football.

"I’m looking forward to meeting everyone and playing my part to help move the club forwards."

Ashton added: "I’m delighted to be able to confirm that Gary will be joining us.

"I worked with Gary for a number of years and he was instrumental in bringing through a stream of players into the first-team, with some of those going on to play in the Premier League.

"Gary will work closely with Paul Cook and Andy Rolls to oversee a number of crucial areas at the club."