FORMER Tranmere Rovers player Lee Jones has been appointed the club's new Academy manager and head of recruitment.

Jones spent three seasons of his playing career at Prenton Park, making 97 appearances and scoring 18 goals.

He also represented Liverpool, Wrexham, Crewe Alexandra and Barnsley.

He has spent the past ten years at Wrexham Football Club where he was head coach for their ground-breaking academy partnership with Glyndwr University.

His role at Tranmere will include overseeing the expansion of the Academy to include the provision of futsal coaching from under-6s, the move to the new Solar Campus training ground and strengthening links with other academies across the North West.

Club chairman Mark Palios said: "I'm pleased Lee has agreed to join us.

"We're a club with a proud history of producing young talented footballers and Lee will be hoping to add to the number rising through the ranks to the first team at Tranmere Rovers.

"He brings experience of both the coaching and strategic planning aspect of the role with him and his knowledge of Wrexham’s link up with Glyndwr University will prove useful to our own college programme which will see around 100 young people being given an opportunity in education, training or employment next season."

Lee added: "I'm delighted to be given this opportunity by the Chairman.

"I've had a fantastic ten years at Wrexham but when Mark explained the direction he wanted the club and the Academy to head in, from the move to the new training ground to pushing to get the Club back in the Football League, I couldn't turn it down.

"I can’t wait to get started and want pre-season to come as soon as possible."

Lee succeeds Paul Morrison, who has been Academy Manager for the 2015/16 season will become Academy operations manager in addition to his youth team coaching role.