King, 22, appointed Transition Goalkeeper Coach by Burnley
King with Senior Goalkeeper Coach Billy Mercer
Written by Training Ground Guru — August 12, 2021
BURNLEY have appointed 22-year-old Connor King to the new role of Transition Goalkeeper Coach, replacing Fabian Otte, who joined Borussia Monchengladbach at the end of last season.
King played for Burnley from the age of 11 and represented them at Under-23 level before being released in 2018. He went on to play for Chester and Clitheroe but returned to Turf Moor as a part-time coach in 2019, eventually joining them on a permanent basis in March 2020.
His role will be slightly different to that of Otte, whose title was Assistant Goalkeeper Coach. Whereas the German focused mainly on helping the club’s U23 keepers to make the transition to the first team, King will work with players from the U15 age group upwards.
Senior Goalkeeper Coach Billy Mercer explained: “We were sad to lose Fab, who was a great asset to us in the short time he was with us. But Connor was the stand-out candidate to replace him and the fact he knows the club inside out, because he was a schoolboy, a scholar and then a professional here, is fantastic.
“Unfortunately, he didn’t make it beyond that but over the last few years we have had him in with us on a part-time basis and then full-time and what we pride ourselves on here is not just coaching the players, but hopefully coaching the coaches.
“And he could be a coach here for many years to come. I am really excited to have him on board. He's very enthusiastic and very knowledgeable and it will only get better with time.”
King added: “I knew that if I wanted to develop in this role then playing would have to be knocked on the head. That was a difficult decision but so far it's worked out better. Not only is the club well known for developing goalkeepers, but Billy is as well.
“So to get the opportunity from him, and to be working closely with him, is hopefully going to be really good. It’s been brilliant so far and just to be part of the department really excites me.”
Otte told TGG: "This is a very good appointment and a very good young coach."
BURNLEY CHANGES SINCE END OF 2020/21
OUT:
- Technical Director: Mike Rigg
- Academy Manager: Jon Pepper
- Media Manager: Darren Bentley
- First-team coach: Tony Loughlan
- Goalkeeper coach: Fabian Otte
- Sport scientist: Ronan Kavanagh
- S&C coach: Tom Short
IN:
- First-team coach: Steve Stone
- Goalkeeper coach: Connor King
- Lead Strength & Rehab Coach: Chris Wilding
- Performance coach: Mike Goulden
- Performance coach: Matt Challoner
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