Rochdale Football Club are delighted to confirm the appointment of James Prieditis as our new Academy Manager.
Mark Litherland, who was appointed last month following the departure of the long-serving Tony Ellis, has departed for Sky Bet League Two club Bradford City.
Prieditis has been in position following Litherland’s departure a fortnight ago and is looking forward to the season ahead.
“It’s a big challenge but one that I am enjoying,” he said.
“The important thing, for me, is to bring stability to the Academy and continue the good work that we’ve been doing.
“The relationship between the Academy and First Team is as good as it has been in my time here.
“We’re in constant communication with Jimmy McNulty and his staff. We meet regularly and have had success already, with George Nevett impressing in the First Team.
“I hope we can continue to expose some of our Academy players to the opportunities that being provided at the moment.”
Chief Operating Officer George Delves commented:
“Mark Litherland opted to take an opportunity to remain in The EFL at the end of last month. We respected his decision and allowed him to leave with immediate effect.
“As Jimmy McNulty has said in relation to players on numerous occasions, ultimately the most important thing is people must want to be at this Club, and the same goes for staff too.
“James was a vital member of the Academy Management Team under Tony Ellis and had already been given additional responsibilities following Tony's departure. His remit has now been extended further, and he'll be the senior leader of everything from a youth development point of view at the Club, with full support from myself, the First Team technical staff, and everyone at the Academy.
“Although taking the reins in a difficult moment, James' efforts over the past few weeks to get all on-field and off-field areas of the Academy ready for the 23/24 campaign has been outstanding, and we look forward to seeing the benefits of his hard work as the season progresses.”
Prieditis was part of Huddersfield Town’s Academy programme when he was a youngster, before heading to the Middle East in a coaching capacity.
After returning to the UK, he was a coach with Huddersfield for five years, before they shut down their Academy programme.
Following a year coaching at Burnley, Prieditis joined Dale four years ago, firstly as a coach then becoming Head of Academy Coaching, supporting coaches across the age groups, before now being appointed Academy Manager.
Congratulations, James!
