Celtic appoint new football chief as Brendan Rodgers hails arrival of 'hugely talented man'

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has welcomed the appointment of “hugely talented” Paul Tisdale as the club's new head of football operations.

According to a Celtic statement, Tisdale, who was most recently the manager of Stevenage, will have a wide-ranging role overseeing recruitment, development of academy players and the use of analytics “in line with the club’s objective to develop Champions League players”.  During a playing career in the 1990s, Tisdale had spells with a number of clubs including Southampton and Bristol City before being forced to retire at the age of just 26 due to injury. He then embarked on a management career which included 12 years in charge of Exeter City as well as spells at MK Dons and Bristol Rovers.

He left Stevenage in March 2022 after just four months at the helm and has since been acting as an advisor to a number of clubs. He assisted Celtic across the summer transfer window and now joins the Scottish champions in a new strategic role, to the delight of Rodgers.

“I am so pleased that we have been able to bring Paul to the club in this important new role and I am really looking forward to working with him," the Celtic boss said. "He is a hugely talented man who I know will make a real positive difference to us and give us a new edge.

“He knows modern football inside out, he understands what we need as a club, what our team needs to operate at a high level, and how we can develop positively and successfully across a number of functions within the club.

“I have known Paul for some time and have been well aware of his work. I know that he will be a huge asset to Celtic and that his knowledge, talent and tremendous work ethic will be crucial to us as we drive forward across a number of areas, always with the aim of delivering higher performance and more and more success.”

Celtic have appointed former Exeter, MK Dons and Bristol Rovers manager Paul Tisdale as their new head of football operations. | Getty Images

Tidsale himself is relishing the challenge. “It is a huge honour to accept this new role at Celtic and join a club of such pedigree and stature," he said.

“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.”

Celtic Chief Executive, Michael Nicholson, added: “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.”