Gary Holt has explained how a conversation with Norwich City chief Stuart Webber fuelled his desire to become a sporting director.

The former City player and coach has just been appointed in a similar role at Scottish League One side Falkirk after leaving his post as boss of Livingston in November.

Holt has previously managed the Bairns and has returned in a different role tasked with long-term planning and advising joint-managers Lee Miller and David McCracken.

The 47-year-old was praised for the job he completed at Livingston, but the City legend has opted to head down a different career path. Speaking to Scottish outlet 'Not the Old Firm', Holt described how a conversation with Webber helped persuade him to swap the dugout for the directors' box.

“I always keep an eye on my old clubs and Norwich City have Stuart Webber as sporting director," he said.

“I had a chat with him after I left Livingston to pick his brain on ideas, how he goes about his role, how he goes about implementing things he does, the hands-on approach he has with the footballing department and what input he has there.

“It’s not one cap fits all sporting director’s, we all have different remits. I don’t want to copy someone, I want to put things in place where they want to talk about us, hence why when I was here as a manager they wanted to talk about the youth products coming through.”

Norwich Evening News: Stuart Webber has been sporting director at Norwich City since 2017.Stuart Webber has been sporting director at Norwich City since 2017. (Image: Paul Chesterton)

Holt's appointment as a sporting director is one he wasn't expecting at this stage of his career. However, he feels it is still an undervalued role, and he is hoping to bring fresh ideas into a club with ambitions of promotion and success.

“I want to expose the sporting director role, I think it’s a role a lot more clubs should and probably will implement. There should be a link between the boardroom and the football department, the successful clubs that have it do it very well, and it’s a role I’ve always had my eye on.

“We have to push forward, push boundaries and push the players and staff to be the best we can. For me personally, I wouldn’t have taken the role (If I wasn’t stepping away from management). It’s maybe a bit ahead of schedule in the career path but it’s an opportunity and when I sat down and spoke to the people involved and went through the process it got me excited."