Brendan Rodgers has thrown some light on the role of Paul Tisdale, appointed as Celtic’s Head of Football Operations on October 16.
It seems that the announcement simply formalised an arrangement that had been in place since the summer when recruitment took on a whole new look.
Mark Lawwell’s conveyor belt of unsuitable projects were replaced by tried and tested talents, two successful loans from last season became permanent while the fee for Arne Engels was more than double the combined sums paid out for Marco Tilio, Yanh Hyun-Jun and Luis Palma.
Engels’ form may have shaded in recent weeks but he is essential to Rodgers’ plans while the three wingers from 2023 are increasingly distanced from first team involvement.
Celtic’s announcement also put Tisdale in charge of creating Champions League players from the club Academy, Rodgers sees first team matters as a priority with Recruitment the basis on which managers and Heads of Football Operations are judged.
January is fast approaching, after creating a summer surplus from the sale of Matt O’Riley expectations are high for the next transfer window with quality over projects again expected to be the driving force.
Asked about Tisdale’s role at Celtic Rodgers went into some detail about the Football Doctor:
Yeah, I think it’ll be a big benefit for us. Paul came in here during the summer to help. I obviously control a lot of the core performance of the team, the B team and everything else that goes around that, media, everything else. But there’s a side that runs beside that, which is, for me, the strategic operation of the club. And I felt there was a gap there in that.
So I wanted to bring someone in just to see how that would go. Paul, not only has he managed before, which gives me comfort, he knows what it’s like to be in the shoes of a manager, but he also understands the business side. So I felt that having someone in to help support that organisation and a lot of the logistics that go on at that level, from recruitment to academy to admin, for me, a modern club needs that.
And if you’re going to progress, you need that operation. Because if I’m out on the pitch and doing all the stuff there, it still needs to go on down here. Clearly, the business side of the club has run immaculately. You only need to look at Celtic over many, many years. But from a strategy perspective, that was Paul’s role. So he links in very closely with Michael and myself, along with Dermot, in terms of the strategy. And we obviously converse a lot, we speak a lot, and he will bring his strength to that role.
Has he been busy with the Recruitment Team?
Been quite busy, yeah. Very clever up here, you know. It’s always ongoing, isn’t it? Even if we’re not just looking for January, it’s beyond. We get meetings this afternoon around our young players and looking at that strategy. So it’s ongoing. I always say you can’t wait for the future to plan for the future.
You’ve got to be looking at it now to look forward, and the club’s in a great place, we’re in a great moment, but we have to always look forward. That is a part of his role, to oversee that and to make sure that we are in the best possible position as a football club to grow that department in order to get the best players in, so that we can perform.
After joining Celtic last month Tisdale told the Celtic website:
It is a huge honour to accept this new role at Celtic and join a club of such pedigree and stature.
I can’t wait to join the team, to begin my work and deliver positive results. Celtic demands and deserves excellence across all areas and I know that that is something the Board and Brendan seek at all times.
In my role I will be doing all I can to further develop our work across talent identification, development and analytics, always with the aim of ensuring high-level support of football performance.’
Having knowledge already of Celtic, I know there are so many quality, authentic people at the club all pulling in the same direction and passionate for success. I look forward to joining them as we work together to deliver excellence for the club and our supporters.
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