Ex-Leeds United gloveman Danny Milosevic will join the Red Devils as football director in 2014.

Red Devils chairman Duncan Smith hasn’t ruled out the 35-year-old’s chances of taking the pitch for the Red Devils’ senior team, but said playing duties were not why he was moving to Ballarat.

“We would love Danny to pull on a Red Devils shirt next season, make no bones about it, but he has made it very clear to the club that his motivation for coming to Ballarat is to work very closely with the academy program,” Smith said.

“People of this calibre are very hard to come by and even harder to find and get to Ballarat. We believe that Danny will take the Red Devils not just up one or two levels but through the roof.

“He will mainly focus on our academy set-up where he will coach our junior coaches, work out training programs and take some training himself. He will also work with the Red Devils men and women teams as well.”

The Red Devils are hoping they will secure a licence in the Victorian National Premier Leagues competition in 2014.

Milosevic, who played for Australia at the 2000 Olympics, will start his job in early January and is excited about the challenge ahead.

“I have known Duncan for a long time and he is very passionate about football in Ballarat and the western region of Victoria,” Milosevic said.

“We have spoken a lot over the past couple of years about me coming to Ballarat and with the NPLV and the FFA Cup starting next season, and the World Cup and the Asian Cup just around the corner, it was the right time.”

Milosevic’s professional career beginning with Canberra Cosmos – where he first met Smith – in the mid 1990s.

The shot-stopper has spent time with clubs all over the world, but his big moment came when he joined English Premier League side Leeds United in 1999.

He stayed there until 2004, and Milosevic never made a first-team appearance, but had loan spells with Wolverhampton Wanderers, Plymouth Argyle and Crewe Alexandra in the championship division.