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Frank McParland is to become Burnley's sporting director

Burnley sporting director Frank McParland
Image: Burnley's new sporting director Frank McParland

Burnley have appointed Frank McParland as their new sporting director after he left the same position at Championship club Brentford.

The 56-year-old will take up his new role on Monday, having previously worked with Turf Moor manager Sean Dyche as his chief scout when he was in charge of Watford.

Although Mark Warburton and his assistant David Weir guided Brentford to their highest-ever league position this season, they were keen to credit McParland for the part he played too.

Having worked at Bolton Wanderers as their general manager, McParland was also the chief scout at Liverpool between 2003 and 2007.

He later returned to Anfield in 2009 as director of academy and player development and helped recruit the likes of Raheem Sterling and Jordon Ibe.

Highly-regarded McParland was placed on gardening leave by Brentford in February when it was announced he, Warburton and Weir would be leaving Griffin Park this summer.

Having finally departed, Burnley - recently relegated from the Premier League after just one season back in the top flgiht - have acted quickly to take him north to Lancashire.

Chief executive David Baldwin is confident he can make a positive impact and told the club's official website: "We welcome Frank to the club and we feel he will be a valuable addition to our team.

"His recruitment of talent is well documented and he has huge experience in working with players from Academy level all the way up to first team.

"We are confident this knowledge will be a big asset throughout the spine of our club as we look to recruit players both for the present and the future."

Dyche is pleased to have been reunited with McParland and added: "As the club continues to progress, I have mentioned many times things both on and off the pitch are changing to further improve and strengthen us in order to continue to achieve.

"The structure is to change to include someone who has a long and deep knowledge at varying levels of football and who can play their part in enhancing our chances going forward."

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