THE GRAND SCHEMER

Hammond has a lofty title and the trust to suggest a Parkhead power shift

NICK HAMMOND won’t be laying on goals, sticking the ball in the back of the net or even keeping it out.

But Celtic’s new head of football operations is still one of the most important signings of the season.

We have yet to discover Hammond’s actual remit beyond the fancy and unfathomable title.

But it does look like he has been handed the keys to Celtic Park by Peter Lawwell.

Going on titles alone, his predecessor Lee Congerton was head of recruitment but Hammond’s role sounds more far reaching. Let’s be honest, he has a lot of work to do to mop up the mess left behind by the last guy.

Celtic may have been hugely successful on the pitch and you can’t argue about a team that has won eight titles on the spin.

However, the trophy cabinet doesn’t hide the fact the club lost its way a little bit in terms of recruitment in recent years.

Congerton’s strike rate when it came to signings was fairly abysmal and a lot of the success was built on those who were already in the building.

Celtic have players such as Scott Brown, Callum McGregor and James Forrest to thank, while Scott Sinclair early on, Moussa Dembele and Odsonne Edouard were the only real standout signings over three seasons.

The club need to get back to discovering hidden gems, the bargain buys that can do a job for the team in the short-term and make money over a longer period.

You go back even to Henrik Larsson and Lubo Moravcik for buttons, through to Victor Wanyama for less than a million and Virgil van Dijk for £2.6m. That conveyor belt has to keep going –all while Celtic are performing and continuing to pick up trophies.

You have to hand it to Hammond. He’s got a big challenge and is coming in at a crucial time with nine in a row on the line.

I don’t know how much credit we can give him for the summer signings as he was late to the party but you have to say overall it was a positive window for Celtic.

They could have done their business earlier but the important thing is the lessons have been learned. Hammond can’t be judged on last summer – but he will be on January and beyond.

It’s a huge period for Celtic and he has to get the club away from the annual situation of scrambling for new recruits in the midst of a European qualifying campaign. How often have we seen them going in to key games without a centre-half or a right-back? Hammond’s appointment has to be the end of working on the hoof.

There must be planning for the short, medium and long-term. Celtic can’t afford to be caught with their pants down like they were when Dembele left on deadline day in summer 2018.

Bids for Edouard and McGregor shouldn’t come as a shock at the end of the season. There have to be contingency plans put in place.

Hammond getting the gig permanently should give Celtic stability and it sounds like he has a good working relationship with Neil Lennon.

The interesting thing is the grand title. It looks like he has been given a lot of power. It could be seen as a sign of Lawwell gradually taking a step back.

I doubt he would let anyone else take the wheel but there’s not much point in just appointing a puppet.

If the chief executive has liked what Hammond has suggested in terms of the structure of the club and the work he has done, then he has to have full trust in his new man to hand him the reins.

A manager is only as good as his recruitment and Hammond has to give Lennon the tools to win nine in a row – but also to shake off this perception Celtic are now a Europa League club.

They’ve only reached the Champions League group stage twice in six years and that is not good enough for a club of this stature.

Hammond has a huge task in the background but Lennon has enough on his plate with his players back from the international break.

Ross County have been a bit of a bogey team for him over the years but while it’s too early in the season to be even talking about must-win games, Celtic need to hit the ground running.

Rangers have gone top and have showed signs they will compete this season. We’ve yet to see how they cope heading down the stretch but Celtic can’t afford too many slip-ups after failing to win their last two league games.

Hammond can get to work on getting Celtic into shape off the pitch but Lennon needs his side to do the business on it tomorrow.