Stoke City have appointed Jonathan Gould as new goalkeeper coach, with the former Celtic No1 having previously worked with manager Alex Neil at Preston North End.
Gould is the older brother of outgoing Bristol City CEO Richard, and the son of former Robins and Bristol Rovers striker Bobby and had been working in New Zealand, at Wellington Phoenix and with the national team, before linking back up with Neil.
City take on Stoke at Ashton Gate in their second fixture after the Championship resumes on December 17.
"I worked with Jon before at Preston and I was really disappointed to lose him when he moved back to New Zealand,” Neil said. “I heard he was back in the country and we had a vacancy at that point. I know Jon's qualities and his experience. He's been about the block and he knows what good looks like. He'll certainly help the goalkeepers.
“When I got in contact with him he was really eager to explore the opportunity to come in and I'm really pleased to get it done."
Gould’s first club in English football was Clevedon Town, making 11 appearances from 1989-90 before he enjoyed a 13-year professional career turning out for Coventry City and Preston, and most notably Celtic where he was a two-time Scottish Premier League winner.
His final club in England actually proved to be City where he joined on a free transfer in 2005 but failed to make an appearance for the Robins and, after three months, moved to New Zealand. He returned to the country in 2015 to work with Tony Pulis at West Brom and then Middlesbrough before linking up with Neil at Deepdale.
The strong family connection at Ashton Gate is continued by the fact his daughter Louise is a presenter on Robins TV. Gould is stepping down as City CEO at the end of January to become the new chief executive of the ECB.
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