Stoke City: Jonathan Walters appointed as technical director

Jonathan Walters took over as interim technical director on 23 February

Stoke City have appointed their former striker Jonathan Walters as technical director after two months in an interim role working alongside head coach Steven Schumacher.

The 40-year-old former Bolton Wanderers, Hull City, Wrexham, Chester City and Ipswich Town player had his best days after joining Stoke in 2010.

Walters announced his retirement as a player while at Burnley in March 2019.

He first took the job on when Ricky Martin left the same role in February.

"We went through a thorough recruitment process, interviewing a number of impressive individuals," said Stoke chairman John Coates. "And there was no doubt in my mind that Jon was the standout candidate.

"He has impressed everybody since taking charge on an interim basis, playing a huge part in galvanising the club and our fans, as well as impressively articulating his vision for the future."

The former Republic of Ireland international scored 62 goals in 269 appearances as a player for the club from 2010 to 2017.

As well as working with the Republic of Ireland Under-19s, he also had technical director roles with League of Ireland side Waterford and in Lancashire with Fleetwood.

Like Schumacher, he was born in Liverpool and was a boyhood Everton fan.

"It's hard to articulate the drive inside of me to help get this club back to where I believe it belongs," said Walters. "The first priority is to retain our Championship status this season. After that, it's a case of building brick-by-brick towards a long-term ambition of being better than we've ever been before."

Stoke, relegated from the Premier League in 2018, have since finished 16th, 15th, 14th, 14th, 16th in five successive seasons in the Championship.

They are currently four points above the drop zone, having picked up five points in an unbeaten three-game run.