Darren Wassall has taken up the position of Academy Director at Derby County with immediate effect.

The 47-year-old has been promoted to Derby’s Executive Team to fall in line with his increased corporate responsibility.

The former Derby defender, who made over 120 appearances for the Rams between 1992 and 1997, was appointed as the club’s Academy Manager in 2009 and will continue to retain the responsibility of that role.





During Wassall’s tenure, a number of players have progressed from the Academy to become established first-team squad members.

These include Jeff Hendrick, Will Hughes and Jamie Hanson from the current first-team set-up while Mason Bennett, Kwame Thomas, Mark O’Brien and Callum Ball have all made their professional debuts in recent years for the Rams.

Wassall also helped oversee the club achieving Category One status for the Academy in the summer of 2014.





Derby County Chairman Mel Morris said: “Darren Wassall is someone that I have known for many years and he is an extremely talented and passionate man, ideally suited to the role of Academy Director.







“Darren is a natural motivator constantly looking to motivate, develop and improve his players and staff on how to succeed.





“He has a huge interest in youth development and is also a very talented coach, which is why we felt it is important that he retains his coaching responsibilities to continue the excellent progress he and Pat Lyons are making with our Under 21 side.”









Derby County’s President & Chief Executive Sam Rush said: “I am at the Training Centre most days with my work commitments and I have seen the Academy develop impressively, especially in the last 12 months with the backing of Mel Morris to take things even further.





“I know the majority of the focus from the outside is on the first-team and the results on the field but we should be, and are, very proud of our Academy.





“We are lucky to have such a dedicated and passionate man in Darren Wassall leading the Academy and he is rightly regarded as one of the leading figures in Academy football in this country.







“The quality of the set-up is incredible and it must be a fantastic place for players to go to every day to do their work and continue their football development.







“It’s an exciting time for us and the Academy and the Training Centre is at the heart of all that, which sits at the very top of the finest places for players to go to work.”





He added: “With my son part of the Academy I have seen Darren at work from a parent’s perspective and it has really opened my eyes to the values he has impressively instilled across the Academy.”





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