Former Rangers media head David Graham to take on Linfield role as Pat Fenlon replacement

Graham replaces Pat Fenlon, who is departing his position with the current Danske Bank Premiership champions to take up a Director of Football post with Bohemians.

It is understood Graham will take up his new position with Linfield later this month.

“I would warmly welcome David Graham to the club and we are very fortunate to have secured such an excellent replacement for Pat,” added McGivern. “I have known David for a number of years and he will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the role of General Manager.“His wide ranging local contacts will be hugely beneficial to the club moving forward and his recent experience at Rangers FC should also serve him well in this new role. I wish David every success at Linfield and I look forward to working with him in the future,”

Graham also expressed his delight at being appointed at a club he has ‘supported all my life’.

“I am delighted to be appointed General Manager of Linfield FC,” he said. “Linfield is a club that I’ve supported all my life and it is a privilege to join the club in a leadership capacity. Pat and the Board of Directors have set a very high bar and as an ambitious club, we must continue to progress each season.“Throughout our recent conversations, it was clear that the Board and I are very much aligned in our ambition for Linfield, as we approach our 140th anniversary.

"I look forward to engaging with our supporters and club partners, so we can continue to drive Linfield forward together.”

Fenlon joined the Windsor Park club – who he also played for between 1994-1996 – as General Manager in November 2018 and played a key role in four consecutive league title triumphs.

“On behalf of the club’s Board of Directors, I would like to thank Pat Fenlon for the tremendous work he has undertaken for the club over the past four years,” Linfield chairman Roy McGivern told the club’s official website. "He has led from the front on our transition to a full-time model and has played a key role in our success during his time in the post.“It has been a personal pleasure to work with Pat over the past four years and he leaves the club with our very best wishes.

"There will always be a welcome for him at Windsor Park and I will follow his future career in football with keen interest.”

Fenlon was full of praise for his time at Linfield and offered special thanks to “David Healy, Willie McKeown and all the football staff, as well as all the players, who have been incredibly successful in my time at Windsor”.

He continued on the Linfield club website: "It was a pleasure and honour to play some small part in the success they achieved domestically and with the significant progress we have made in Europe.

“I will be forever grateful that I had two wonderful and successful times at Windsor and rest assured that all the friends and memories will stay with me forever.”