Webb advises Celtic on Howe to spot talent
Lock keen to hold on to Scotland spot
EVERY manager linked with the Celtic job is likely to have their flaws or shortcomings pored over by supporters.
Fans, after all, are desperate to see the next boss through the door nip Rangers’ momentum in the bud by delivering the Premiership title back to Parkhead next season.
Critics will have their say, and absolutely no coach will escape having every detail of their old jobs, previous signings and successes – and failures – scrutinised by those who want the best for their club. Eddie Howe, one of the more attractive candidates for the role, has found his transfer record come under the microscope.
There has been the narrative that the Englishman has spent big money during his time at Bournemouth, on players who perhaps have not hit the heights their price tag would have demanded. Dominic Solanke’s signing from Liverpool back in 2019 is seen by some fans as Exhibit A, with his return of 14 goals in 78 appearances hardly justifying his £17million fee.
Celtic don’t have that cash to spend and often rely on unearthing gems to polish for a fraction of that kind of money. But sporting director David Webb, who has been linked with a move to Parkhead, has backed his former Cherries colleague over Solanke’s signing – and suggested that supporters may not always see the longterm planning that goes into such a signing.
He said: “With the likes of Dominic, that’s quite a harsh view because if you’re going to sign a player like him ... Liverpool, who he was playing for at the time, like to recoup a lot of value on players. Solanke – we looked at his previous loans and he was very highly thought of as a striker.
“Sometimes for every player we got right, you’re always going to get some wrong. We brought Dom in when we needed goals and his record showed a proven goal scorer. But he was probably one for the future at that time.
“The pressure wasn’t on him from Bournemouth but maybe
from fans, thinking, ‘Why is he not playing and scoring?’ But Bournemouth had a different remit for him. They wanted him to integrate and develop to be an eventual successor to Callum Wilson or Josh King.”
Webb has been a top talent spotter for the likes of Tottenham and takes pride in seeing the players he has brought in succeeding. His work on recruiting the likes of Heung-Min Son from Bayer Leverkusen to Spurs remains one of the best transfers in the club’s recent history.
Like Celtic’s remit when signing players, Webb has always tasked himself with finding younger up-and-comers that can eventually make an impact on the first team. If they can do so earlier, even better.
“It’s very good to see a talent come in and perform and you get a certain satisfaction because recruitment is never easy,” he said. “For me to see players succeed it means I’ve done my job properly. Son, for example, was coming from Germany and coming into England where the Premier League is still quite different in terms of speed and transitions.
“When you’re looking for these players you’re looking for players on the rise. Son was playing well and on the rise, Callum Wilson was on the rise. Moving to that environment gives them more focus on a new challenge.
“I think at big clubs when you make big signings, there are expectations on the player to succeed. Fans always want those players to come in straight away and perform but it’s not always as easy as that.”
SAM SKINNER is hoping to bring some of his recent club form into the Scotland camp this week, after the 26-yearold back-five forward was one of three additions to Gregor Townsend’s training squad which is preparing for Sunday’s Six Nations clash against Ireland at Murrayfield.
Having grabbed two tries for Exeter Chiefs during their 38-16 victory over Bath on Saturday, Skinner is in a good place both mentally and physically right now – and is keen to show to Townsend that he has taken on board the feedback received when being left out of the initial training squad at the start of the Six Nations.
Edinburgh back-row Nick Haining, and uncapped Glasgow Warriors winger Rufus McLean (who only made his professional debut on 16th
January) have also been called into the national set-up.
Meanwhile, Bath backrow Josh Bayliss, who was a surprise call-up ahead of the postponed round three match against France has dropped out of the squad, as has Glasgow Warriors trio Richie Gray, who missed Saturday’s club match with a concussion, Darcy Rae and Grant Stewart.
“I was massively disappointed to be left out of the original squad, but Gregor is the man with the opinion that matters, and I wasn’t involved, so that’s just the way it is,” said Skinner. “But I’m back here now and have got to try to keep it that way by training and playing as well as I can.
“Naturally, there are areas of the game I can improve – I am aware of what my workons are – and hopefully he has seen that in my recent performances. There was some feedback I could use in my games and I think that has been really helpful and beneficial for me – not only in trying to play better but also in my relationship with Exeter. It’s been a tough process, but it has put me in a good place going forward.
“There’s not much more I can say,” he added. “I had to look inwardly a little bit and think of areas of my game I could knuckle down on. One positive was that it gave me an opportunity to really focus on my game at Exeter and get a run of games together to improve my performances. Hopefully I have done that.
“To be completely truthful I feel like I’ve been trying to graft as hard as I can. I just hope that the harder you work, the luckier you get. I got the opportunity to bag a couple of tries against Bath, which was great.
“I just really enjoyed the whole performance against Bath, both as a team and personally. It was a massive win for Exeter, we needed that – and it was a big confidence boost for us.”
Skinner made a big impact when he first appeared on the international scene during the 2018 Autumn Test series but has struggled to build on that during the last two-and-a-half years. He has managed just 10 caps in total, and his last start in a Scotland jersey was the World Cup warm-up match against France in August 2019, when he suffered a hamstring injury which ruled him out of the trip to Japan and the start of the 2020 Six Nations.
“That’s one thing I’ve been aware of and I’m trying to get the opportunity to get a string of games together for Scotland and to play consistent rugby,” he said. “I’m extremely passionate to see that happen and I’ll keep pushing as hard as I can.
“Fate hasn’t always been on my side – I’ve had injuries at key times – but that’s the way it goes. If I get a few opportunities, I’ll do my best to take them.
“There’s not a lot more I can say. I’ve had games here and there, but it hasn’t really gone my way early on. I’ll just keep cracking on and hopefully get there eventually.”
Selection for Sunday’s match would be a good starting point for Skinner in his quest to fully establish his international credentials. There is a lot riding on the match. Having lost two games already in this championship, Ireland will be firing on all cylinders as they look to avoid finishing outside the top three for the first time since 2013, while Scotland need to bounce back after their opening weekend success at Twickenham was overshadowed by a disappointing home loss to Wales in round two.
“I don’t think Scotland need to change too much,” said Skinner. “We’ve looked pretty strong in the last couple of games, really competitive. The stats speak for themselves in terms of where we are as a side, although obviously the most important stat is getting a win.
“We haven’t started our preview process yet, but I played in the last game against Ireland and they’re a quality side. The way they’re talking and playing they seem to be in a strong and confident place so there’s a hell of a battle coming up this weekend and can’t wait to get stuck in.”
AMY CONNELL never envisaged herself preparing for her Olympic debut by playing a souped-up version of whack-a-mole.
With the pandemic having put a stop to contact sport for the best part of a year, Scotland’s top karate player and Olympic medal hopeful has been forced to sharpen her reactions by using a flashing light contraption devised by her coach to keep her reactions as fast as possible.
The 26-year-old has spent years dreaming of becoming an Olympian. As a child, it seemed an impossible goal; when Connell was growing up, karate was not an
Olympic sport but when the announcement came in 2015 that it would be included in the Tokyo 2020 programme, the Paisley fighter could barely contain her excitement.
However, had someone told her that just a few months out from the Games, she would be training by chasing flashing lights, she would barely have believed it. But with the current circumstances forbidding contact for such a lengthy spell, Connell was forced to adapt and do whatever she could to stay in as good shape as possible.
“My coach got me training with flashing lights and that’s really kept my reaction speed up which has been huge because that’s one of the most important things in karate,” she says. “We’ve been doing our coaching sessions over Zoom and I’m so glad we’ve had that but it’s really not the same.
“It’s not perfect training circumstances by any stretch but we’ve just tried to make the most of it.”
Connell is no stranger to overcoming obstacles. Aged 20, she suffered multiple fractures in both legs, and was told her career as an elite athlete was over. But she refused to accept that prognosis and, after over a year out, made her comeback.
The effort turned out not to be in vain; in 2018, Connell made history by becoming the first Scot to represent GB in karate at a major multi-sport event when she was selected for the European Games in Minsk, and she also won her first major championship medal when she took bronze at the European Championships.
It is that injury-plagued spell of her life, in which she was forced to develop extreme durability, that she believes has helped her cope with this current crisis everyone is living through.
“I definitely believe that what I went through with my injury made me stronger both as an athlete but also as a person,” she says.
“When everything began to kick-off with Covid I was thinking OK, I’ve dealt with tough things before, I can deal with this.”
With many other countries having resumed contact training months ago, Connell admits she feel like she is lagging behind somewhat. But she retains the belief that she will be back to her very best in plenty of time to secure her seat on the plane to Tokyo.
“I do have the confidence I’ll be back at the level I was at,” the -55kgs fighter says. “I’m not naïve, I know it’ll take a little bit of time to get used to that kind of contact training again but my body has been doing this for years so it’ll hopefully not take long.”
Connell is now within touching distance of her first competitive outing for a year. Next week, she will travel to Turkey to compete in her first post-pandemic tournament, with another couple of
events scheduled before the Olympic qualifiers take place in June.
Having endured so many months with no sign of events in the calendar, Connell admits she is counting the hours until she can get those competitive juices flowing once again.
“I absolutely cannot wait to get back competing – I’ve missed the feeling of walking onto the mat so much,” she says. “When you know you’ve done all the hard work and you’re ready to go, there’s nothing like it.”
With karate omitted from the Olympic programme in 2024, Connell is well aware that Tokyo may well be her one and only chance for glory.
“No one could have ever seen this last year coming but I’m a firm believer that all obstacles can be overcome,” she says. “When things are tough, it just makes it all the better when you actually achieve it so I think that’s what Tokyo will feel like.”
What I went through with my injury made me stronger as an athlete and as a person