Bitcon promoted to Head of Football Operations by Southampton
Mark Bitcon: Joined Southampton as Performance Director in June 2023
Written by Training Ground Guru — August 22, 2024
Mark Bitcon has been promoted to Head of Football Operations by Southampton, following the departure of Jason Wilcox to Manchester United in April.
Bitcon joined the Saints as Director of Performance in September 2023 from the RFU, where he was Head of Athletic Performance and Innovation. In that position he worked across the Sport Republic portfolio of clubs - which also includes Valenciennes in France and Goztepe in Turkey - and has continued to do so in his new job.
When Wilcox left Southampton in April to become Technical Director at Manchester United, Southampton decided to divide his duties between Bitcon, Head of Recruitment Darren Mowbray, Head Coach Russell Martin and Chief Executive Phil Parsons.
There is also a lot of input from Rasmus Ankersen, the former Co-Director of Football at Brentford who is now Co-Founder and CEO of Southampton’s owners, Sport Republic.
Speaking at the club’s recent Fans’ Forum, Bitcon said: “It’s the ability to share and collaborate that is our real strength and I think we do that better than other multi-club models, if I’m being honest. I think there’s a humbleness about the group to share.
“We’ve also got Rasmus Ankersen, who’s been highly successful in what he does, working with us all on a daily or weekly basis. I speak to the Sporting Directors and the coaches from our partner clubs every single week, and so does Russell.”
-1.png)
