The club is delighted to announce three new key additions to Manager Gary Caldwell’s management staff at the Cliff Hill Training Ground.
Joining the club are Graham Barrow, Malcom Crosby and Jon Pitts.
Speaking about the new additions, Gary said: “They have all been part of the club for about four weeks now but working remotely and that will be the set up moving forward. As part of the club’s long-term growth strategy it has been my intention from day one to look at new and innovative ways of providing the best experience and expertise to supplement the staff already in place here.
"In this league we are up against teams with much superior resources and it is important we think differently to meet those challenges so that we can truly compete in the long term. Today was the first time they have all been together at the club and I thought it was important to get them to see the lads and for them to put a face to their names.”
Graham Barrow
Graham joins the club as Tactical Insights Coach.
Speaking about the appointment, Gary said: "Graham was my assistant manager at Wigan Athletic and was my coach at Wigan when I was a player. He is someone I have the utmost respect for as a person and as a football person he has vast experience of the game as a manager and coach. This will be vital as we meet the new challenges of League One and beyond.
"He will be helping from both technical and tactical viewpoints to prepare for the different opposition we face week to week. He is always on the phone every day helping with the training preparations and our coaching methodology overall.
"He is someone that I have always leaned on when I got into coaching and then as a manager and I’m really glad the club has embraced this appointment. With today’s technology he can operate in a remote capacity and is based in the north-west on the doorstep of many of our opponents, which provides a reach and intelligence to help us better compete from where we are. Graham will get out to a lot of games, watch a lot of players and opposition on video and will come down to Exeter to support us on the grass when he is needed throughout the season."
Malcolm Crosby
Malcolm joins the club as Chief Scout.
Speaking about the appointment, Gary said: "Malcolm was someone I hired at Wigan as Chief Scout and did an amazing job signing players like Will Grigg, Michael Jacobs, Max Power, Dan Burn and Yanic Wildschut. These players were a huge influence in winning the League One title in 2016 and some of them were sold for a large profit for the football club in the transfer windows that followed.
"Malcolm is someone that has been involved in football for a long time and is extremely well connected, so he is a great asset for us, not only in terms of scouting and coaching experiences but also in continuing to grow this club’s excellent reputation for producing talent and playing exciting, competitive football.
"He will be the Chief Scout and will get out to as many games as possible and have eyes on players live and can report back to myself and Marcus Flitcroft.
"He is someone I trust when he gives his opinion on a player. He knows how I want to play and what type of player I’m looking for. Along with Graham he has already had a big influence during this window and moving forwards towards the summer. "
Jon Pitts
Jon joins the club as Head of Performance and Wellbeing.
Speaking about the appointment, Gary said: "Jon is someone I’ve known for a few years and he has been coming into the training ground once a week to provide strategic support for performance and wellbeing.
"He has a wide experience of what high-performance looks like across a wealth of sports including Olympic programmes, England cricket and Red Bull F1, as well as previous football roles at Brentford, Wrexham and Shrewsbury Town. He has overseen the identification, development and long-term preparation of successful elite performers, and through F1 he also has a huge expertise in human analytics and how we can use technology to find ways of being more efficient and competitive.
"He has already given us a new perspective on how we see coaching and development of players and will be a huge asset to both the first team and the academy, how we look at sustaining high performance, optimising our resources and developing players of the future.
"He has been an amazing support so far to me and all the staff and has fitted in well and is now starting to get to know the players, understand them and work with them to be the best version of themselves as we meet the higher challenges of football."
Speaking about his finalised team, Gary added: “I think all of them bring a real experience of the wider world of football and sport and that is a huge asset to the already great staff we have here at the Cliff Hill Training Ground.
"They have been working for a number of weeks behind the scenes and were a huge help in getting the results we had over Christmas.
"The more good people, and experiences and ideas you can have can only be of benefit to everyone at this football club. The board have been hugely supportive of my vision and it’s exciting to work on a unique strategy that continues the sustained growth of the club. These appointments are a big part of that journey.
"It’s my job to consider these ideas and implement them towards achieving better performances and results - I’m delighted to have everyone in place. We can now get to work on how we can compete in this league whilst in the background continually evolving for an exciting future.”
Welcome to Exeter City, Graham, Malcolm and Jon.