Burnley Announce Appointment of Mike Rigg as New Technical Director at Turf Moor

​Burnley have appointed Mike Rigg as the new technical director at Turf Moor.

Rigg will play a chief role in the process of talent identification and recruitment at all levels of the club, from academy through to first team. He will also oversee a new investment programme in growing the talent identification and analysis teams at the club.

Like first team manager Sean Dyche, Rigg will report directly to chairman Mike Garlick, who said that he was very pleased to have the 49-year-old joining the club.

"We are delighted to welcome Mike on board," Mr Garlick told ​Burnley's official website. "All of the candidates which Sean and myself interviewed were of a very high calibre.

"However, Mike stood out as someone who we feel can help move the club forward in terms of identifying and hiring the best possible footballing talent, both on a national and international basis.

"It’s an area of the club that we need to invest in and improve further, and we feel sure that Mike’s wealth of experience will be a valuable asset to us."

Rigg, who was educated at Manchester Metropolitan University, has held a variety of different roles in professional football, starting out as Technical Director for the FA of Wales between 1995 and 2001.

He subsequently held the roles of Head of Academy at Sheffield Wednesday and Chief Scout at Blackburn Rovers, before taking over as Head of Player Acquisition at ​Manchester City in 2008 and overseeing their transformation into one of English football's biggest clubs. 

Rigg briefly worked for QPR before he was appointed Head of Talent Identification for the Football Association in 2013, working alongside future England manager Gareth Southgate. He later became Chief Footballing Officer at ​Fulham.

Rigg will commence his new role at ​Burnley on December 1.