Alan Irvine is hoping that the recruitment of a full-time video analyst will have a significant impact on North End's push for promotion next season.

The Gaffer has made no secret of his appreciation for 'ProZone', a tool that he embraced at his former club Everton.

And the appointment of Aaron Briggs on a permanent basis is seen as a further technique of developing the players both collectively and as individuals.

A prime example is Chris Brown, who stated to the press following his two goal salvo in the victory at Charlton that he'd observed a collection of former Manchester United forward Ruud van Nistelrooy's strikes in the aim of helping his positioning and movement.

Irvine explained: "I was really keen to do a lot of video work and it was something we did fairly successfully at Everton and something that the players here have bought into really well.

"We had Aaron Briggs working for us on a part-time basis while he was a student at UCLAN and he was very impressive in the way that he was desperate to learn.

"He showed a great appetite for the work that we set him and he got better and better very quickly. The players like him, he has got a good personality and he is certainly someone that I feel will be of benefit to us.

"It was a huge part of us getting out of trouble and I hope that next year the video work will be a huge part of success up the league.

"When I was at Everton I started getting the video lads there to put together DVDs which we called 'Best Practice DVDs'.

"I have found that the players here really enjoy watching them and the strikers have looked at examples of top-class strikers and how they move and how they score their goals and the defenders have watched good defensive teams.

"I just feel that it is an extra tool for working with the players. Ideally if you can sit the players down, either individually or as a group, show them what they need to do, pick out a few clips of the players doing things either well or not so well and then go out onto the training ground and put it into practice.

"I think that it is a fantastic way of developing the players."