Shelbourne unveil Stephen Henderson as Head of Youth Development at Tolka Park

First Division title hopefuls Shelbourne have unveiled the appointment of former Cobh Ramblers manager Stephen Henderson as the club’s new Head of Youth Development.

Henderson takes up the role at Tolka Park following his departure from St Colman’s Park prior to the mid-season break.

A UEFA Pro Licence holder, the 53-year-old joins his brother Dave Henderson at the Reds who is the Head of Recruitment at the club.

On the appointment of his new role at Shelbourne, Henderson noted his delight upon joining the club; "After talking with Dave O'Connor and some of the people involved in the academy, it was clear for me to see that Shels are pushing in an exciting direction at senior and academy levels.

“To be part of that process is exciting and I am very grateful to the club for affording me this opportunity. Our job at the academy is to ensure we give the young players every opportunity to reach their potential through structured training sessions, lots of encouragement and really good information.

“There are some great coaches at the club and I’m really looking forward to working with them and the players closely over the coming season."

Shelbourne CEO David O’Connor added; “We are delighted to have someone of Stephen’s calibre and experience join our academy structure. He has a wealth of experience and knowledge and has a proven track record of working with and developing young players.

“Stephen’s role is to give support, direction and lend of all his vast experience to all our academy coaches and players. We are very lucky at Shelbourne to have a first-class academy structure that provides an elite pathway through each of the underage National League, right through to our First Team.

“With the recent restructuring of the underage schoolboy leagues, Stephens initial goals will be focusing on the pre-season scheduling for the Club’s DDSL teams, as well as monitoring the progress of each of the Club’s National League teams."