The former Arsenal full-back will travel with the team to their pre-season training camp in Germany on Wednesday.

Chairman John Williams said: "Pulling together a new backroom team with the right balance of skills, experience and ideas across sports science, recruitment and coaching is clearly important and we are nearly there now."

Winterburn's most successful spell as a player came with the Gunners, when he was part of the acclaimed back four that won the Premier League title in 1998.

His last appearance in the top flight as a player came in 2003, when he was with West Ham United. He was released following the Hammers' relegation to the second tier.