Paul Tisdale finally speaks out

Paul Tisdale has finally spoken out, giving a glimpse into his role as Head of Football Operations at Celtic.

There was a mix of excitement and curiosity last October when the former Exeter City boss, and self styled Football Doctor joined Celtic with a very broad remit from working with the club Academy through to scouting first team players.

Without a Director of Football or Sporting Director it seemed that Tisdale had been given a very important brief within the club but barely a word has been heard from him since he took up his job.

A gentle interview with Celtic TV could have shone some light on his job, after an underwhelming transfer window in January fans have questioned exactly what his role has been.

Since Tisdale was appointed Celtic have signed Kieran Tierney, Jota, Ross Doohan and Isaac English with the first three all returning for a second spell with the club.

This afternoon Celtic announced the appointment of Shaun Maloney as Professional Player Pathway Manager, prompting a rare comment from Tisdale:

I am delighted that we have been able to bring Shaun back to the club in this role.

Shaun will be tasked with developing the internal and external processes necessary to ensure we optimise the talents of our young players.

Through his experience and knowledge, we believe Shaun will add significant value to the role.

Maloney replaces Darren O’Dea who has left the job to become assistant manager at Swansea City.

Having managed Hibs and Wigan and assisted Roberto Martinez with the Belgian national squad Maloney seems over qualified for his new role.

Announcing Tisdale’s appointment Michael Nicholson said:

We are delighted to appoint Paul as Head of Football Operations, and we are sure he will bring a new dimension to our work.

Talent identification and talent development, from our Academy through to our first team, is of fundamental importance to the club’s strategy, and Paul has tremendous expertise in these areas.’

We are certain that he will bring great experience, energy and innovation to what we do, working alongside Brendan, our football manager, Chris McCart Head of Academy and our excellent wider football staff, to bring further development and success to the club.