Former Rovers coach Rob Kelly has taken up a role at Championship rivals Preston North End.

Kelly had a spell as first-team coach at Ewood Park while Paul Lambert was in charge during the 2015/16 campaign.

The 58-year-old will now be assisting North End boss Ryan Lowe in the dugout as the club aims to build on last season’s 12th-place finish in the Championship.

Lowe says Kelly will be “vitally important” at Deepdale and described the appointment as “a big coup”.

“I’m really pleased Rob’s joining us as a first team coach,” he told the club website. “He’s got a wealth of experience and that’s going to be vitally important to both the staff and the players.

“I worked with Rob for a short period in my early managerial career and I’ve kept in contact with him ever since.

“He’s somebody who’s helped me get to where I am today, so to have the opportunity to work with him again is fantastic.

“I think it’s a big coup to be able to bring someone like Rob to Preston North End, where he’s worked before, and I’m looking forward to having him as part of the coaching staff.”

Kelly previously worked at North End between 2007 and 2010 and served as caretaker manager at times.

Prior to that, he had a spell in charge at Leicester after stepping up from his role as assistant to Craig Levein.

Kelly also had stints at Sheffield Wednesday, Nottingham Forest and West Brom before serving as Lowe’s assistant at Bury.

His most recent role was at Barrow, working alongside former Rovers favourite David Dunn at Holker Street.

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