Kilmarnock appoint Angelo Alessio as the club's new manager

Angelo Alessio (right) was assistant at Stamford Bridge for a season

Kilmarnock have appointed Angelo Alessio, former assistant to Antonio Conte at Chelsea, Juventus and Italy, as the club's new manager.

The 54-year-old former Juventus midfielder succeeds Steve Clarke after signing a three-year contract.

Angelo will work alongside Clarke's former assistant, Alex Dyer, and meet the players when they return for pre-season training on Thursday 20 June.

"It is a real honour for me to be named Kilmarnock manager," Angelo said.

"I've spent a lot of time researching and gathering information about the club and everyone I spoke to had nothing but positive things to say about Kilmarnock.

"I can't wait to get to work with the players and staff on the training pitch and building on the strong foundations left by Steve Clarke."

As well as a five-year spell at Juventus, Alessio played for Avellino, Bari, Cosenza and Modena.

He joined Conte as assistant manager at Siena in 2010 before following him to Juventus - where they won three Serie A titles from 2012 to 2014 - Italy and Chelsea.

Kilmarnock are looking to build on this season's third-place finish in the Scottish Premiership and director Billy Bowie added: "We were extremely impressed by the calibre of the candidates for the vacancy, but Angelo's knowledge and passion for the role really shone through.

"This is a hugely exciting period for Kilmarnock as we celebrate the club's 150th anniversary and play European football for the first time in 18 years and we're looking forward to this new chapter with Angelo at the helm."