Ready to make his Mark at St James'

NEWCASTLE United have announced the appointment of Martin Mark as the club's new dedicated set-piece coach. The backroom staff member arrives from FC Midtyjlland after a three-and-a-half-year stint at the Danish club.

- AARON STOKES

Mark enjoyed a similar role in his native country and has helped continue the trend of set-piece success in Scandinavian football.

He will link up with Eddie Howe, Jason Tindall and United's backroom staff in the coming days, before taking his place on the bench for the club's first friendly of the summer, against Celtic, next Saturday.

Many will scoff at the need for such a specific member of staff but a growing number of topflight clubs are seeing significant success after opting to put more focus on this area.