MATT Gill is looking forward to continuing his work with Norwich City's Under-23s after being confirmed as the Development Squad's permanent manager.
The 36-year-old, who represented City as a player from 2009 to 2011, takes on the position after overseeing the youngsters on a caretaker basis for the second half of last season.
"It's a great job for myself to get, being my hometown club," he told Norwich City TV.
"We've come back to Norfolk as a family and getting this role has made my wife happier than I've ever known her! I'm really looking forward to getting stuck into it.
"It's important with the new structure that the Academy pulls his weight. There's a lot of expectation and that's a good thing for us."
Reflecting on what can be taken from his increased involvement during the latter stages of the 2016-17 campaign, Gill added: "I really enjoyed that experience.
"I got to know the lads really well so that's helped me no end. I've been able to get a good knowledge of all the boys and hopefully we can hit the ground running.
"The boys were given off-season programmes by Jay Eastoe-Smith, the Head of Academy Sports Science, and they've come back really well. We've been really impressed and it's allowed us to get good work into them early on."