Dundalk have appointed former Brentford, QPR and Swindon Town Chief Executive Mark Devlin as the Irish club's new CEO. He succeeds Mal Brannigan who departed at the start of the year.

“Joining the champions of Ireland is a huge honour,” says Devlin, who finished up at Griffin Park at the end of December. “I intend to build upon the excellent work that has been done at the club in recent years, and aim to grow Dundalk FC into a bigger, better and stronger club, on and off the pitch.

“I see this as a very exciting opportunity to work with an ownership group that is fully committed to this club, and prepared to support its growth and development in the short, medium, and long term. I believe the owners are building something special at Oriel Park, and I am proud to have been given the chance to play a part in that.”

The club's chairman, Mike Treacy, of PEAK6, said the process of recruiting the new man had been "thorough and exhaustive" but that Devlin's experience of "modernising club operations, increasing and engaging with the fan base," as well as his role in the planning of Brentford's move to a new stadium had all helped to persuade the board that he was their man.