St Johnstone manager Callum Davidson is happy with the club’s summer transfer business.
But he revealed that behind the scenes restructuring work is underway at McDiarmid Park to ensure key improvements are made in the manner Saints approach player recruitment.
Focus needs to be sharpened and risks minimised.
“I think we had a good transfer window,” said Davidson, whose first team signings hit double figures over the last three months.
“It has been difficult but I think we have done good business.
“We have had a lot of backing from the club to bring players in and I think we’ve got the right types.
“Recruitment is an ongoing process and it’s something we want to get better at because you don’t want to be going into each window needing to sign so many players.
“It’s important to get the right balance between signing players, keeping players and letting people go.
“So it’s important we restructure to make it better and easier for everyone involved.”
Eyes on games
Saints are striving to successfully marry number crunching and old school scouting.
“We want to have continuity,” said Davidson.
“The recruitment side is the hardest thing to get right.
“You can sign players with data and stats. Some will work and some don’t.
“You can sign players by knowing them and knowing who they are. Some will work and some won’t.
“It’s about getting that balance between it to minimise the risk.
“It’s about having the right approach – targeting the right areas and focusing on the leagues that are most relevant.
“We need to focus on the areas that are most likely to be suitable for us and what will work best for bringing players in.”
He added: “We all have contacts in England and elsewhere but you need a process behind your recruitment with someone watching games and reporting back.
“We need to have eyes on games so when we do want to fill a position, you have someone who has watched a player three or four times already and is able to tell us to go along, see him play then make a final decision.
“That’s what we are working towards because it’s an area we want to improve.”
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