Former Sunderland midfielder lands new coaching role with Championship promotion rivals
Dean Whitehead has been appointed as assistant head coach at Blackburn Rovers
Former Sunderland midfielder Dean Whitehead has landed a new role with promotion rivals Blackburn Rovers.
Whitehead has been appointed as assistant head coach at Ewood Park, where he will once again link up with Valérien Ismaël. Ismaël was appointed as the new boss at Blackburn earlier this week following John Eustace’s surprise decision to leave for relegation-threatened Derby County.
Whitehead has previously worked with Ismaël at Watford and Besiktas. The pair will take charge of their first game this weekend when Rovers take on Norwich City in a game with huge implications for the race for the top six.
“Dean is a great guy, who I have worked with previously at Beşiktaş and Watford,” said the new Head Coach.
“He comes from football. He is a former player who had a big career and he brings a lot of experience.
“He is someone who understands about the culture and what every club is about. He knows English football perfectly, he knows the people, he has good connections and his expertise is very important to me.”
Whitehead won two promotions with Sunderland in a five-year spell at the club, and will return to the Stadium of Light with Blackburn in late April. He has now a very experienced coach at second-tier level, having also had spells at Cardiff and Stoke City.
