Newcastle United cult hero lands key staff role at Liverpool

Newcastle United cult Andy O'Brien has landed a key role at the Magpies' Premier League rivals Liverpool.

The former Republic of Ireland defender, renowned on Tyneside for scoring an important equaliser against Sunderland in a 1-1 draw 23 years ago, STILL has his name chanted around St James' Park along with his namesake Liam O'Brien with the derby chant of "Any O'Brien" reguarly aired on the terraces and up and down the country at away grounds.

O'Brien was a Sir Bobby Robson signing in 2001 and made the move from Bradford City for just £2million. The centre-back made 172 appearances for Newcastle, scoring seven times, most famously against Sunderland but also in a 3-1 win at Arsenal back in 2001.

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After leaving Newcastle in 2005 the ex-centre-back enjoyed a playing career at Portsmouth, Leeds and Bolton Wanderers before moving to Vancouver Whitecaps. O'Brien made the move into scouting with Liverpool almost 10 years ago.

However, he has recently been promoted by the Reds to the Head of technical scouting. Speaking about his work in scouting he said in 2016: "It’s different and very competitive. The majority of the top players are courted by a lot of the top clubs. Trying to find a needle in a haystack or a diamond is not the easiest thing to do these days.

"There are never enough games to watch. You’re continually keeping up to date with players you may be interested in or you’ve been advised to watch, conversing with agents, looking at this player, that player. It’s never-ending."