Perth Glory have appointed former captain Jacob Burns as general manager of football.

The club has created the new wide-ranging role in an expanded football department, which will see the former Socceroo responsible for a number of areas including youth development, player management, player research and football staff recruitment.

The news comes a day after Glory announced a backroom shake-up with the axing of club stalwarts Gareth Navan and Scott Miller.

"I feel extremely privileged to be continuing in a role at the club I'm so passionate about,” Burns said.

“I believe my experience and knowledge of playing top flight football over the past 20 years can add real value to the club’s coaching structure and football department moving forward.”

Glory CEO Jason Brewer was delighted to be able to confirm the appointment and believes that Burns can have as big an impact off the field as he did on it.

Burns played 116 games in five seasons at Glory before retiring at the end of last season. He led them to the 2012 A-League grand final, where he was man of the match in the 2-1 loss to Brisbane.