Ben Knapper was integral to Flo Allen's recruitment of new Norwich City Women head coach Andy Cook.

Both women's general manager Allen and sporting director Knapper were recruiting new charges this summer, with Johannes Hoff Thorup replacing David Wagner at the helm of the men's senior side.

The women's team comes under Knapper's remit but is mainly run by Allen, who says she had plenty of help from her colleague during the process to hire a new coach.

Although the 37-year-old has consistently been involved, he was especially helpful with Cook's appointment.

"Ben's been superb," said Allen. "He supported me with the recruitment process, which was long, hard and thorough.

"To have someone like Ben who's been at probably the best women's club in the country in Arsenal, and has learned from all of their best practices, was just superb.

"Ironically we were both going through recruitment processes for head coaches only a few weeks ago, and so it's been great to learn from him and understand how to do this as well."

The former Bristol City defender also works closely with executive director Zoe Webber and the rest of the board, but enjoyed collaborating with someone experiencing the same task she was in real time.

She's pleased with the conclusion of the search, and hopes the highly-rated Cook can help the Canaries achieve the promotion they've long sought.

"I get so much support and guidance from Ben and the rest of the executive committee at the club," she continued. "It's so well-oiled, in terms of the support that's given.

"For me it was brilliant that when we started the interview process I had somebody to bounce some ideas off.

"When we announced Andy it was brilliant to finally get it over the line. It sets a marker for the season that's to come."