Bristol City Appoint Mark Ashton As Chief Operating Officer

Ashton assumes control of all day-to-day football operations, having previously worked with the club in a consultancy capacity.

He was heavily involved in establishing the talent identification and recruitment system which was the foundation of player recruitment in spring / early summer 2014. In addition, Ashton led the project that enabled the club to secure Category 2 status for the Academy while moving it to its present home at SGS College, Filton.

He left that temporary role to lead the group which acquired Oxford United and became the club’s CEO in the first half of 2014.

Since this time he has been widely credited with overhauling the League Two club’s operations and putting in place new controls, player recruitment and talent identification systems.

City majority shareholder Steve Lansdown said: “We made sure we didn’t lose contact with Mark after he had done such an excellent job for us in establishing the systems which were used to such good effect in the 2014 summer transfer window.

“We are delighted we have managed to persuade him to join us again, this time on a permanent basis. This appointment is a further step in our long-term strategy to build the best on and off the pitch specialist expertise across our whole group.”

Ashton said: “I’m excited to be back at Ashton Gate and joining the club at such an important time in its history. I’m looking forward to leading the club and building on the work I initiated a couple of years ago.

“This will establish a clear pathway from the pitch to the Board and providing a direct line of communication from head coach to owner.”

The former West Brom goalkeeper added: “To have a game against my old team at the beginning of my tenure is the icing on the cake and I look forward to seeing many familiar faces on Tuesday evening!”