MARK Venus was confirmed as new boss Tony Mowbray's Hawthorns No.2 on Wednesday, October 18, penning a 12-month rolling contract.

He has been instrumental in re-modelling the Baggies squad with Mowbray and was rewarded with a new 12-month rolling contract in February 2008.

Venus was a key figure in the backroom staff that won the Coca-Cola Championship title in the 2007/08 season and his hard work has resulted in his first taste of the English Premier League as a coach.

He took his first steps on the coaching ladder when he joined former Ipswich team-mate Mowbray as assistant boss at Hibernian in the summer of 2004.

Together the duo soon made an impact at the Edinburgh club, guiding them to third place to earn a UEFA Cup spot. Hibs also reached the League Cup quarter-finals and Scottish FA Cup semi-finals in their first season together.

Hibernian claimed fourth spot last term to qualify for the Intertoto Cup as well as reaching a second successive Scottish FA Cup semi-final.

It was the first time in three decades the club had secured successive top-four finishes.

Venus took caretaker charge of Hibs' 2-2 Edinburgh derby draw with Hearts on the Sunday following Mowbray's switch to Albion.

But the pair were swiftly reunited, with Venus following Mowbray south of the border to once again be installed as his right-hand man.

And, as fate would have it, the 39-year-old's first game in the Baggies dugout will see him pit his wits against his former club Wolves, where he spent almost a decade as a player.

The Hartlepool-born ace kicked off his playing career by joining his home-town club for a brief spell as a youngster in 1985.

He moved on to LeicesterCity where he stayed until 1987 before joining Wanderers in March of the following year.

Venus become an integral part of Wolves' rise from the misery of bankruptcy.

Venus helped Wanderers win the old Division Four title two months later and went on to ensure they were crowned Division Three champions the following season.

In total, he made 338 appearances, including 18 as a substitute, and scored ten times for the Molineux outfit.

Venus made the switch to Portman Road in August 1997, teaming up with Mowbray for the first time.

They formed part of the Tractor Boys' defence which laid the foundation for the club's promotion to the Premiership via the play-offs in 2000.

Often an unsung player, Venus was blessed with a sweet left foot and helped Ipswich finish fifth in their first season back in the top flight - notching what proved to be the winner in a 2-1 win over Middlesbrough.

The Suffolk club were relegated 12 months later but still qualified for the UEFA Cup for the second successive season courtesy of the Fair Play Awards and Venus was named the Blues' Player of the Year.

He was released by Joe Royle at the end of the 2002/03 campaign and joined then-League Two outfit Cambridge United, eventually finishing his playing days on loan to Dagenham & Redbridge before moving to Easter Road.

In total, Venus fell just five short of 600 career appearances, including 28 as a substitute, scoring 30 times.

(LAST UPDATED JULY 15, 2008)