"Having been here before will help me settle in. I know the club, I know the area and it is amazing, but I still know a lot of the faces here.
"To be honest I don't know David Moyes that well but we are very similar in terms of our beliefs about football."
David Moyes said: "Alan is a great coach and he'll give me plenty of knowledge. Like me he has served his time and is now due the next step up after working with the Newcastle first team and the Academy youngsters."