PORT ADELAIDE has appointed its current head of athletic development to fill the Head of High Performance vacancy left by Darren Burgess.

Dr Ian McKeown, who holds a PhD in strength and conditioning, will immediately step into the role responsible for leading the Port Adelaide high performance team.

Originally from County Down in Northern Ireland, McKeown will commence his sixth season at Alberton next year.

After a worldwide search, Port Adelaide opted for in-house talent, with McKeown originally brought to the club by Darren Burgess in 2013.

“[McKeown’s] work experience spans a number of professional sports and he has worked with numerous Olympic-standard athletes around the world,” Port’s head of football Chris Davies said.

“The position… attracted an outstanding list of potential candidates from sporting competitions around the globe.

“It was ultimately the work that Ian had done during his time here at the club under Darren Burges and since Darren has left, that made him the ideal candidate to take our High Performance department forward.”