Getting player recruitment right is one of the biggest reasons for Celtic’s success over the years. Of course for every Virgil van Dijk you get a Glenn Loovens and there’s an Amido Balde for every Moussa Dembele, but you can’t expect to hit every single time.
Especially now the “elite” clubs seem intent on closing the Champions League off to most and only focus on making themselves richer, it means recruitment is more important than ever. The biggest clubs only want to sign established players so it leaves an opportunity open to sign some talented youngsters.
That’s why the appointment of Nicky Hammond could be crucial. He’s now officially the Head of Football Operations which directly involves identifying players for Neil Lennon to sign. The Daily Record reported on some of Lenny’s comments and he certainly sounds positive about the appointment.
READ MORE: “Im a Celtic fan”: Scotland striker still desperate to seal dream move to Celtic
Speaking about Hammond he said: “Recruitment is up there as one of the most important facets of managing these days, so his role will be key. It’s important to see players with your own eyes, whether I go and watch or Nicky goes.”
He went on to add: “It’s like a good marriage. Sometimes stats can hide things and they can overdo things as well.”
Hammond has previously worked in similar roles at West Brom and Reading. It’s hard to really get a gauge on how successful he will be based on that history, neither club has had any great success but they face different circumstances to Celtic.
The real proof will be judging how well his signings do and if he can help Neil Lennon build the team to compete at the next level – which realistically means a regular berth in the group stages of the Champions League and competing for the knockout rounds.
At least the gaffer sounds positive about it.
Introducing The Celtic Star App and our new ad-free Premium Service...
Go ad-free on The Celtic Star, get a FREE trial period to try it out. Also download our new App – available for both Apple and Android – and get the best Celtic content on your phone without fighting through pop-up ads and being forced to watch videos.
Our new PREMIUM service comes with a free seven-day trial so you can look before you book. If you are happy to continue the price will be just 99p per month or £9.99 for the year. For that you get an AD-FREE SITE plus access to our premium content, and you’ll also help us make The Celtic Star even better and less reliant on advertising revenues, allowing us to be more focused on publishing the best Celtic features on the internet.
Click HERE to access your FREE trial. We think you’ll like it! We’re Obsessed with Celtic and we think you are too! Join us hand in hand...
