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Former Sunderland forward Kevin Phillips has joined Gary Rowett’s backroom staff at Stoke City.

Phillips had been part of Rowett’s backroom staff at Derby County and he is one of five men who have made the switch with Rowett at the Bet365 stadium.

The former England forward will become the first-team coach at Stoke alongside Mark Sale, Rory Delap and Callum Davidson - who has made the switch from Scottish side St Johnstone.

Speaking about the appointments, Rowett told Stoke’s official website: “When I joined the club I highlighted which people would be able to come across with me and who would suit Stoke City and then I also had to think about where I could add a specific skill set to move us forward.

“It was a very easy decision in some ways in bringing Mark, Dave and Joe in straight away. I worked with Kev at Derby and felt he brought a great deal to the strikers and was really, really good at what he did.

“I also felt there was a gap where we wanted to do something a little bit different and that’s where Callum comes in. He has been a friend of mine for a long time, since we played together at Leicester, and whenever we speak we talk about football.

(Image: PA)

He continued: “The fact that he was earmarked for involvement with the Scotland set-up speaks volumes and I spoke to a few people about his coaching ability and felt he would be a really interesting one to bring in and freshen things up.

“Rory will work predominately with the first team but because of his affinity with the Club he will dip down to help with the development of the U23s and U18s.

“I think it’s a really good balance. All the guys we have brought in are first and foremost very good at their jobs but they are also passionate about bettering themselves.”

Phillips has twice been linked with the Sunderland job in the last year and has openly spoke about moving into management one day.

He remains a legend on Wearside for his goalscoring exploits, winning the Premier League golden boot and the European golden shoe during his time on Wearside.