COLCHESTER United have made some key changes at board level, ahead of the forthcoming 2022-23 season.

The U's have appointed long-serving duo Steve Ball and Corin Haines as club directors.

They join executive chairman Robbie Cowling and director of football Tony Humes, on the club's board.

Gazette:

Ball (pictured above) has been named as the club's Technical Director, having most recently served as head of first-team recruitment at the JobServe Community Stadium,

The 52-year-old former U's player had been serving in the recruitment role for the past 15 months, having returned following his stint as the club's head coach.

Gazette:

Haines (pictured above) has been appointed as Colchester's Community Director.

The Colchester United Football in the Community (FITC) Chief Executive has a long connection with the club spanning more than two decades, having been employed by the club since the age of 15.

Haines, who holds a UEFA A Licence and FA Advanced Youth Award, has responsibility for the whole Football in the Community programme, its staff, participants, and partners both operationally and strategically.

Haines first started out at FITC as a community apprentice coach back on July 1, 2000.

Since completing his apprenticeship in 2002, he has worked in numerous roles helping to raise the profile of the charity prior to taking over as Head of Community, in 2013.

Further changes are expected to Colchester's hierarchy before the new campaign, as they plan for a more profitable season in League Two under newly-appointed head coach Wayne Brown.

Jon De Souza left his role as the U's Director of Performance in April to take up a role as Men's First Team Development Coach at League One side Charlton Athletic.

 

Meanwhile, Joe Monks has left his role as Colchester's Head of Senior Recruitment after four years at the club to take charge as Football Operations Manager at non-league outfit South Shields.

He will work closely with former England striker Kevin Phillips, who is manager of the ambitious Pitching In Northern Premier League club.

Monks told the South Shields website: “The project here is massive and I’m hugely excited to be a part of it.

“The chairman has very clear ambitions for where he wants the club to go, and everyone involved wants to help the club build towards reaching a higher standard.

“The training ground is excellent and the plans for the development of that, alongside the stadium, will make them EFL standard when required.

“It’s a brilliant time to get involved and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.

“Immediately, my main focus will be on recruitment and ensuring Kevin has the squad he needs to give us the best possible chance of winning promotion next season.

“There is a clear strategy for recruitment this summer and we know exactly what positions we need to strengthen and the type of players we need to add to the group.

“My initial conversations with Kevin, Lee Picton and Wess Brown have been very productive and hopefully the fans will see signings that show we mean business this coming season.

“Recruitment isn’t my sole focus, and as the players come through the door we will build everything off the field to make sure we are full-time in every aspect of what we do.

“It’s essential Kevin has the right support staff off the field to give us the best chance of success on it, and that’s what my primary responsibility is.”

Monks, who has also worked at the likes of Wolves, Southampton and Norwich City, will oversee aspects including recruitment, analysis, strength and conditioning and general operations, in his new role.