Blues boss Paul Jewell says double Olympic gold medal-winning rower Steve Williams will prove to be a really good signing for Town. The 36-year-old won gold in the coxless fours both in Athens in 2004 and at the 2008 Beijing Games and has also climbed Everest and walked to the North Pole.

Jewell believes Williams, who will focus on players’ fitness development and match preparation while working alongside fitness coach Andy Liddell, will have a significant role to play: “I think he’ll bring in an awful lot.

“He’s a part-time consultant at the moment but I think the job will evolve. It’s almost ground-breaking really.

“When I met him in the summer and I found out what he’d done, it was quite unbelievable. He’ll help Andy Liddell in the strengthening and conditioning, but also he’ll help players with mental toughness.

“If you’re going to climb Everest and win two gold medals and walk to the North Pole you’ve got to have a mental toughness.

“I spoke to him and he’s really excited about helping the players, not just individually but as a group. I think he’s a really good signing for us.”

The Town manager says Williams’s lack of footballing knowledge isn’t an issue: “It’s something different. He has no football background and doesn’t pretend to have a football background, but he has a sporting background.

“I wouldn’t like to fight him! He’s tough. He’s not here to tell us how to play football but he’s here to help the players and the staff because the stuff that he’s had to go through and the sacrifices he’s had to make to get to the top will be an example to anybody here.”

While Williams will be a new face at Playford Road this season, a familiar face has returned to the club with Bryan Klug coming in as academy director after Sammy Morgan decided to step down.

Jewell paid tribute to the Northern Irishman’s time with Town's youth set-up: “First of all you’ve got to say a big well done to Sammy Morgan, who has done a fantastic job with the academy.

“But with the [EPPP] changeover, I think Sammy thought it might have been a great time for him to step aside. From my point of view, the way the academy was run was top class.”

He says that Klug wasn’t someone he was overly familiar with but was recommended by others at the club: “Once we knew that Sammy might be looking to step down, we looked to Bryan.

“I didn’t know Bryan Klug, I’d not met him but everyone at the football club speaks very highly of him and I knew when I spoke to him and he was interested in the job, he still lives locally, that he was the stand-out candidate.”

Photo: Action Images

Sir_Bob added 07:51 - Jul 9 Can he play in goal?
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BlueBadger added 08:02 - Jul 9 What is Evans thinking, bringing in such an obviously 'non-football' man onto our staff? It's clearly done with one eye on the olympics. Disgrace.
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buryblue77 added 08:12 - Jul 9 Ok he may well have his worth, but without signing players he'll have nobody to work with.
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Kesgraveblue57 added 08:15 - Jul 9 Great a rower to train footballers it's a JOKE
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MintyHalfWit added 08:24 - Jul 9 He climbed Everest and walked to the North Pole. Getting ITFC into the Prem will be harder than doing both in the same day.
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buresmac added 08:25 - Jul 9 The fitness and mental levels that these rowers have is incredible, and if he can stop those stupid last minute and just before half time goals we gave away last season then he is a good signing. Lets face it we were so good last few seasons we can afford to be complacent and ignorant to new ideas. Well done PJ!
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warky1970 added 08:51 - Jul 9 This coach that specialises in working with coxless fours could be ideal with our balls-less 11
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stickymockwell added 09:04 - Jul 9 I Canoe believe it!!!! This Club is Up**** creek without a paddle.
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SuperReuser added 09:08 - Jul 9 what!? why is everyone saying this is a bad signing. The bloke will know a lot about fitness training. look at Team Sky in cycling. They employed an ex-swimming coach and completely changed Bradley Wiggins training regime (going against a lot of cycling principles)... unorthadox, yet now he is winning the Tour De France. Signing someone from a different background with a fresh outlook on the sport is not a 'disgrace' nor does it show the club is 'up the creek.'

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yun added 09:16 - Jul 9 Further evidence of the club's concern with players' fitness. Considering the number of games we threw away from winning positions last season, I don't have a problem with this. Shows the club has identfied a problem and is doing something about it. Welcome to the show, Steve.
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tractorlowrie added 09:17 - Jul 9 SuperReuser - I agree with your comment although I think the post bef'oar' yours was a bit tongue in cheek :-)
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Guthrum added 09:18 - Jul 9 Given our experiences of the last few years, a bit of extra toughness, gritty determination and winning mentality instilled in the team would be no bad thing. Say goodbye to conceding late goals and hello to doughty defending and late winners.
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BillBlue added 09:20 - Jul 9 buresmac and SuperReuser well said, both of you. This guy is a goldmine to us particularly in our current parlous state. I don't honestly believe these cretins have a brain to think with before they start typing. A great idea and a great asset so well done PJ and everybody else who had a finger in the pie. COYB
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algarvefan added 09:24 - Jul 9 So what some of the early posting muppets are saying is that our players don't need to be fit or have the right attitude on the pitch. Quite honestly how can it not help!!! Good signing!!
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bluey123 added 09:28 - Jul 9 What are you people on some sort drugs we need football people just look at what Clegg has achieved this club is going backwards fast
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dirtyboy added 09:44 - Jul 9 If you wanted to improve sprinting and Usain Bolt's coach came into the club, because he's not a 'football person' would it be a pointless appointment? Of course not. The top premier league clubs all have appointments who are experts in their fields. I see a lot of good players on that pitch, but have they got that 'edge', that mental make up that makes them give that 1% extra? At the moment, no, a few show it, but not all. If this guy can come in and show what needs to be done to achieve great things, things that very few achieve, then it can only be good.

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bluetintedglasses added 09:55 - Jul 9 Some of you fans are so pathetic! He is working on the players FITNESS along side Andy Liddle. He doesn't need football experience to get the players fit. He clearly has a strong background on fitness. So, it is a brilliant signing!
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PJ_Needs_Duncan added 09:58 - Jul 9 Dirtyboy - thats the thing though sprinting is important in football, to this day I've never seen anyone row in a football match. Mind you there's always next season. Sh*te appointment we really have turned into a joke for a club. Its getting to the stage where Marcus Evans will probably look for new sponsorship as he'll be too embarrassed to have his name emblazoned on our shirt. These aren't the days.

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jas0999 added 09:59 - Jul 9 We need to sign players. Very weak squad at present.
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buryblue77 added 10:00 - Jul 9 Yes, agreed with all the positive posts, a good signing because all he needs to know about is fitness to do his job, not football. The problem is this is not the sort of news a lot of us want to be hearing, especially as it's looking like another keeper will go elsewhere, a position we've had significant problems with in recent years.
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not_a_witty_name added 10:37 - Jul 9 As we are the fittest club in the Championship it is obvious that he has been brought in to increase the mental strength of which we have very little. Now all we need is someone to increase the mental ability of some of the muppets above
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irishtim added 10:37 - Jul 9 Have no problems with the fitness coach, He can only be good for us. Winning mentality etc. Its the lack of signings & getting new signings up to speed is the major problem.
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AlanMahon2011 added 10:39 - Jul 9 Not only does our chief executive have priority over the olympics than his part time job (being us), he's now signing olympic gold medalists!! The man really is turning us into a hell for leather joke, he HAS to go!
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SuperReuser added 10:46 - Jul 9 literally bored of your comments these days AlanMahon 2011. even the most positive news stories you turn into something negative about Clegg.
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Hoppersblue10 added 10:55 - Jul 9 But are we going to sign any players..?
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