PAUL Cox has filled one of his key back-room staff vacancies with the appointment of a new Barrow AFC physio.

Cox has brought in Matt Butterfield from Bolton Wanderers, to fill the gap left by the departure of Sean Riley to AFC Fylde.

Butterfield comes with experience of physiotherapy, strength and conditioning training and preventative care, having spent the last four-and-a-half years with the Trotters.

He has a degree in sports rehabilitation and has worked with Bolton's Academy, their under-23s team and the first-team, including during their League One promotion campaign last season.

Butterfield came highly recommended to Cox, who believes he will play a key part for the Bluebirds during the upcoming season, and said: “Matt will be meeting up with all the boys who had injuries from last year and assessing them prior to them coming in on Friday.

“There are two physios I worked with at Mansfield – Simon Murphy, who's now the head of physiotherapy at Leicester, and Chris Bowman, who was working at Cambridge and is about to go to Leeds. I asked them their honest opinion of who was out there, and Matt came highly recommended by both.

“It's getting people in who have all the add-ons – the strength and conditioning, the rehab, everything else. It's a very important role at any football club now.

“He can do the strength and conditioning, the pre-warm-up stuff and the preventative care that helps stop injuries.

“He's got experience at Bolton, and it's a very important position to fill.”

Butterfield said of his appointment: “I've joined Barrow AFC as I feel it's a club that matches the level of ambition that I have to succeed within the sport, with the clear aim of promotion to the Football League.

“It has always been my goal to be the head physiotherapist of a Football League club, and having spoken with the manager I feel that the club is an excellent fit for myself, and hopefully I can play a role in making this a reality.”

Cox is still in talks with a potential assistant manager – believed to be Micky Moore, who worked alongside him at Mansfield Town and has previously had spells with Solihull Moors.

The Barrow boss hopes to make an appointment before pre-season training starts tomorrow, and said: “We're in dialogue. We've sat down with the person we want, and we're just trying to get the right figures for both parties to go forward.

“Hopefully we can come to an agreement.”