Doncaster Rovers boss Grant McCann on 'important' new staff addition + Hakeeb Adelakun prediction
Grant McCann believes beefing up the club's recruitment department is an important step forward for Doncaster Rovers.
Last week the club posted a vacancy for a recruitment analyst and it comes ahead of a summer where the club are preparing to make tweaks to that area, with slightly more emphasis placed on analytic tools and data with regards targets.
Speaking at the Meet the Owners event earlier in the year, chief executive Gavin Baldwin said: "Like we did with the medical department, a 'root and branch' approach is something that needs to happen with recruitment as well - not to make it better, just to make it easier for these guys so they've got more tools to focus on the players they want to bring in and then give them a bit more rest time as well."
As such, the impending arrival of an analyst specifically for that department has been welcomed by manager McCann.
"At this moment in time, we've got three analysts that work at the training ground and who work diligently on the opposition," he explained.
"And they work on in possession and out of possession, set-plays, stuff like that. So the recruitment analyst - he or she - will come in hopefully over the next few weeks and be a huge plus to what we're doing.
"They'll work very closely with Lee Glover (head of recruitment) and myself. We've spoken before about the new systems and databases that we're going to start using this summer to identify targets to fit our style of play. So, it's something that's just going to be streamlined a little bit more. This will be a really important job, which will be firmly focused on recruitment and working with the
recruitment team."
McCann added: "We need somebody really specific in terms of what we're looking for and identifying players as well as the players that we identify ourselves. It's a really important role that I think will be really beneficial for the football club now and for the future, because it's something the club has probably never had."
Meanwhile, McCann believes Hakeeb Adelakun will benefit massively from the upcoming pre-season. The winger made a surprise return to Rovers back in January but has been in and out of the team in that time.
After effectively missing out on pre-season at both Salford and Cheltenham - he joined each club after the season had begun - McCann believes Adelakun will be an altogether different proposition next term.
"I think he'll be a completely different player next year in terms of fitness, sharpness and robustness," McCann added. "If you ask any player, I think if you miss a bit of pre-season, you're playing catch-up, and Hakeeb's probably played catch-up the last two years.
"Training in-season is not as hard as it is off-season so he's probably still a bit behind. But I think pre-season will be brilliant for Hakeeb and it will benefit him so much, because it's something he hasn't had for a few years now."
Rovers host Lincoln, a former club of Adelakun's, tonight in a re-arranged league fixture. The visitors will be crowned League One champions if they avoid defeat.