Sunderland have announced the appointment of David Preece as the club's new goalkeeping coach.

The 44-year-old is a popular figure on Wearside after starting his playing career with the Black Cats before going on to enjoy a career with the likes of Darlington, Aberdeen, Silkeborg IF, Barnsley and Lincoln City.

Having assisted the club throughout their pre-season campaign, the decision was made to offer Preece a permanent deal at the club, something which head coach Lee Johnson believes will only help the club as they prepare for the long, hard season ahead.

Explaining the appointment to the club's official website, Lee Johnson said: "It is a great story for Preecy to return because he’s a local lad and I think he has unfinished business at the club.

"He has a good relationship with Mark Prudhoe, which is obviously going to play a big part in the goalkeeping sector moving forward, and I think that was important, but he also has the career to back up the detail.

"You need a very unique and specialised set of coaching skills, and human skills, to be a goalkeeping coach and we believe we have the right man for the job.”

The verdict

This has the makings of a great off-field appointment.

Coaching additions often fly under the radar but with David Preece you have someone who could offer a huge amount to the club in both a personal and professional capacity.

While his relationship with the club and the fans is obviously a big plus, the fact that he has a wealth of experience in coaching means that he'll be bringing some genuine value to Lee Johnson's backroom team.

With the likes of Lee Burge and Anthony Patterson to work with it'll be interesting to see what sort of impact he can have.