ROVERS owners Venky’s are considering strengthening the club’s off field operations with the appointment of a Chief Executive, the Lancashire Telegraph understands.

The club are exploring the possibility of adding another senior member of staff to help assist Finance Director Mike Cheston, who is the only current UK-based board member.

Cheston has taken on the responsibility of the day-to-day running of the club following the exits of former managing director Derek Shaw and ex-director of communications Alan Myers in 2016.

Rovers have been without a Chief Executive since the departure of Paul Hunt in 2012, while Paul Agnew left his post as the club’s general manager in 2013.

Shebby Singh served as a global advisor between 2012 and 2013 with Suhail Pasha now responsible for communication lines between Ewood Park and India.

The owners have maintained they would be open to appointing new members to the club’s boardroom should the right candidate be available.

The most recent departure was that of Paul Senior who resigned from his Director of Football and Operations post in May in the wake of relegation from the Championship.

Former Coventry Chief Executive Chris Anderson has already been ruled out of the running for a possible Rovers role, despite previously being linked, but two other former Sky Blues employees are reported to be in the frame.

One of those, Steve Waggott, only took over a role as Head of Operations at Southend United in October while the other, Chris Robinson, is a former non-executive chairman of Arena Coventry Limited who played a key role in Coventry’s return to the Ricoh Arena in 2014.

At September’s supporters consultation meeting Cheston admitted he had ‘embraced a whole new set of responsibilities’ having taken over the day-to-day running of the club and revealed he had spoken with the owners about the possibility of adding another senior member of staff to the club’s ranks.

He said: “It has arisen because previous directors have left and not been replaced.

“I work with a team that are fully committed and I enjoy their support and that of the owners.”