Burnley announce return of club legend in academy player/coach role
Jack Cork has returned to Burnley in a player/coach role in the club’s academy.
The experienced midfielder left Turf Moor at the end of his contract at the end of last season after spending seven permanent years with the club, having previously enjoyed two loan spells.
But the 35-year-old has since returned to Gawthorpe over the summer to help out Under-21s boss Andy Farrell, who he will now work under as assistant manager.
The club have also confirmed that Cork will also be available to play for the club’s academy side.
“It’s amazing to be back,” he told the club’s official website.
“Working with Andy Farrell and the Under-21s has been a good experience so far. I’ve been doing lots of stuff I wouldn’t usually have been doing as a player, like taking meetings for example.
“This is the next step of my career and life as I try to discover new things that I might be good at and some things that I might not be good at.”
Cork started his coaching journey while he was still a senior player for Burnley a couple of years ago, picking up his UEFA B coaching licence alongside former Claret Ashley Barnes.
“I think as soon as you get older than 30 every footballer starts to think about it,” Cork added
“You don’t want to think about it because you’re enjoying playing football so much but for me, especially getting my B licence with Barnsey, it was a lot of fun. Then I started doing my A licence and it’s just grown and grown.
“I missed it when I was away for a month or so and it’s nice to be back in the environment and be back involved in football now as Andy Farrell’s assistant.
“Because I’m new to this, I sometimes join in with some of the sessions which helps as I can see the picture earlier when I’m in there playing.
“When I’m running around and I can see it in front of me in the moment, I think people can respond better to what I’m saying. At the minute, at this stage of my career, it’s perfect.”