FORMER Oxford United midfielder Dean Whitehead has been appointed assistant head coach at Blackburn Rovers.
Abingdon-born Whitehead left his role at Stoke City in January amid the coaching shake-up under new manager Mark Robins.
Since hanging up his boots, Whitehead has also held coaching roles at Huddersfield Town, Shrewsbury Town, Port Vale, Besiktas, Cardiff City, Watford and Barnsley.
He worked alongside new Rovers head coach Valerien Ismael at Besiktas and Watford.
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Ismael told the Rovers website: “Dean is a great guy, who I have worked with previously at Besiktas and Watford.
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“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.”
U’s youth product Whitehead made 136 appearances for the club, scoring nine goals, before joining Sunderland in June 2004.
Whitehead spent five years at the Stadium of Light, and was twice a Championship winner with the Black Cats.
He joined Stoke for £3 million in July 2009, and made 158 appearances, including as a substitute in the 1-0 FA Cup final defeat to Manchester City in 2011.
Whitehead spent the final five years of his career with Middlesbrough and Huddersfield, and when he retired, he boasted 620 appearances on his CV, including 234 in the Premier League.
