Former Wolves, Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Hibs figure lands Championship job

Former Wolves defender Mark Venus has landed himself a job at a Championship club.

The 56-year-old who played 287 times from 1988 to 1997 at Molineux has been named as the assistant manager to Tony Mowbray at Midlands rivals Birmingham City.

Venus has been a long-term associate of Mowbray after the pair played together at Ipswich Town, and has worked at the likes of; Hibs, West Brom, Celtic, Middlesbrough, Coventry City and Blackburn Rovers. He had been out of work for a month since Mowbray was sacked from his job at Sunderland, and the pair have reunited for what will be their eight club together in management.

He will get down to business quickly alongside Mowbray as the pair take to training today. Birmingham City's first game of the Tony Mowbray era is against Swansea City at St Andrew's on Saturday (January 13).

Birmingham City players will be getting someone with a vast amount of experience in English football. Venus holds the UEFA Pro Licence which is the highest qualification that a coach or manager can obtain. He has previously held a caretaker manager role at Hibs, Middlesbrough and Coventry City but has never been a permanent manager.

He had a 19-year playing career that began at hometown club Hartlepool United before he signed for Leicester City and later Wolves in 1998. The most appearances he made for a single club for Wolves, and helped the club to Division Three and Four league titles.

He was swapped for Steve Sedgley in 1997, and won promotion to the Premier League with Ipswich Town, where they finished fifth in their first season, and qualified for the UEFA Cup. He later played for Cambridge United and Dagenham & Redbridge, and played one game for Hibs after being registered as a player.