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With that in mind, Ash was the obvious choice. He's been working as the club's skills coach with the younger members of the Centre of Excellence and was also the Under-14 manager and took the squad to Phoenix for the recent tournament that was funded partly by the Clarets Mad Youth Foundation.
The 42-year-old ex-Claret has been coaching for some years and is qualified up to the top, UEFA Pro-Licence, level and for me is as good an appointment as we could have made for this vital role.
Laws said after confirming the appointment: "This is one of the most important roles in the football club. Historically, Burnley Football Club has had a wonderful reputation for producing young talent and bringing them into the fold.
"This area will need to be strong and hand-picking the right person was essential to work with the young players to ensure a smooth transition. And we want this transition not only to be smooth, but also a rapid one so that these players become available for the first team. Therefore an internal appointment was an important part of the process because we have excellent support staff here.
"I would personally like to wish Ashley all the very best in this role. I have confidence in his ability and we look forward to seeing the fruits of his labours."
Ash is expected to work with a squad of around twelve players next season. This will include the five second-year professionals and the two new pros Michael King and Dom Knowles. It will be boosted by some of the youth players and the reserve team will also include some members of the first team.