Ralph Hasenhuttl stressed it was important to “trust” the expertise of recruitment specialists such as Joe Shields, when looking to bring in the next big talent to Saints. The St Mary’s side confirmed the appointment of Shields as the club’s new head of senior recruitment back in July. Asked how helpful it was having Shields there in the recruitment setup,
Ralph Hasenhuttl said: “You know, as a manager, when you pick the players you have never the same knowledge about the player like people like this, who have watched them 20, 30, 40 times or even more. When you see them one time and you make some mistakes and think ‘I don’t need him’, it’s not, that’s not the way it goes. That’s why you have a department, that’s why you have people looking for the players over the years. And then you have to trust them and then you have to say, ‘okay, bring them in’, and then it’s up to us to make them shine.”
Hasenhuttl was also thankful for seeing Saints be able to act quickly in the transfer market this summer, due to investment in the playing squad from owners Sport Republic.
Ralph Hasenhuttl said: “You need also to have the money to get them here. This is also important. I mean, we always had our eyes on the right players in the past but the difference was that we couldn’t bring them, in time, when we knew that they were available. And most of the time we had to wait until we sold players before we can go to them, and then it was very often too late and they were playing for other clubs. Especially for the young players, I think we are good here. They know this and this makes it easier for us. But it doesn’t mean that every young player in the world can play for us. We want to pick the best ones, and then invest all the energy and all the work, what we want to do, to make them better. And this is I think a good combination and I think Romeo Lavia and Gavin immediately shows that this is a good way to go.”
