Former Town full-back and academy coach Mark Kennedy has returned to Championship new boys Birmingham City as U21s professional phase coach.
Kennedy, 49, who was sacked as Swindon boss after only five months in October last year, is pleased to be back at St Andrew’s where he was previously assistant manager under his former Town teammate Lee Bowyer.
"I’m really excited to be returning to Birmingham City at what is an exciting time, not only for the club but also for the academy as we enter the category one games programme next season,” he said.
"Throughout my coaching career I have worked with both academy and senior players, and I believe my experience can help further the development of our players as we test ourselves against the best in the country.”
Kennedy was brought to Portman Road by his former international team-mate Roy Keane in the summer of 2010 when he signed him for a fee of £75,000 from Cardiff City.
Having made 34 starts and three sub appearances without scoring, the one-time Millwall, Liverpool, Manchester City, Wolves and Crystal Palace man began coaching at Playford Road late in the 2011/12 season.
Paul Jewell named him his U21s coach the following summer and the Dubliner continued in that role under his former Ireland and Wolves boss Mick McCarthy when he took over in November 2012.
Kennedy, who won 34 caps with the Republic of Ireland, scoring four goals, left the Blues to coach Manchester City’s U15s in 2016.
After that, he had a short spell coaching the U23s at Wolves, as first-team boss at Macclesfield, before his previous spell with Birmingham.
From May 2022 until October 2023 he was manager of Lincoln City and in October 2022 he led the Imps to a 1-0 defeat of the Blues at Portman Road.