Bristol City confirmed the appointment of Dennis Baraznowski as their senior Professional Development phase coach earlier this weekDennis Baraznowski has joined Gerhard Struber at Bristol City(Image: Getty Images and Bristol City)

Dennis Baraznowski has a “big responsibility” to help young players develop quickly so that they can feature for Bristol City’s first team, Gerhard Struber has explained, after the German became the latest addition to the Reds’ coaching staff.

The Robins confirmed in an official statement on Monday evening that Baraznowski had been appointed as senior Professional Development phase coach at the High Performance Centre, a role which will see him oversee both the Under-21s and Under-18s, whilst leading the former on a day-to-day basis.

City’s hope is that the 32-year-old will work closely with Struber and first team coaches Bernd Eibler, Craig Fleming, and Alex Ball to help prepare young players to make the step from youth to senior football, with the new Robins boss keen to utilise the Reds’ own academy prospects in his first team.

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When asked about the appointment in his pre-match press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Struber said, “I think he’s a very interesting young coach, and he’s shown us this in different roles. He was, in the last few years, in the role of assistant coach, he was in the role of a youth coach in Hamburg, and also in Austria, so he has a little bit of experience in this way.

“He’s highly educated. He is also a UEFA Pro licensed, and in more directions, he has the ambition to make the next steps. I think here, he has a platform, with very interesting young players, in the youth, but also in the second team, that he can help these players to grow in the right way.

“We have big trust in him. He could be a coach, of course, he is well connected with us, and we have a good exchange, but right now, he also has a big responsibility for the club to help young players develop quickly, so that they are ready for us.”

Baraznowski took charge of his first game as Under-21s boss on Tuesday afternoon as City were beaten 2-0 by Coventry City at the Alan Higgs Centre.

Adam Murphy, Elijah Morrison, and Ephraim Yeboah, all of whom have been involved with Struber’s first team over the course of pre-season and the first weeks of the new campaign, started for the Young Robins as goals from Tristen Batanwi and Rylie Siddall secured the three points for the Sky Blues.

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With the addition of Baraznowski to the coaching ranks at the HPC, the Robins aim to further strengthen the pathway from the academy to the first team.

While naturally, players will still have to earn their opportunity, the alignment between the Under-18s, Under-21s and Struber’s side, in a footballing sense, should only benefit the youngsters as they progress through the levels.

“Yes, of course,” the head coach replied when asked if making sure the playing style was integrated through the entire club was a key part of the appointment. “I think when we have, in the end, a clear pathway for the boys from the youth until the first team, it’s always great.

“At the same time, we have to find the different view about a professional football team, how we train, how we educate players in our roster, and how we develop young players in a good way. I think the variability, the flexibility with different shapes, with, of course, similar principles, and I think this is the big one, where it would be great when this is very clear and very close together.

“I think, in this direction, we have to be good on the way and then I think the chance is very high that we bring some young players through the academy until [they reach] us. Then I think, we made a good job and in this direction, we are very ambitious.”

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