HOOPS HIRE BREN’S PAL LEE

Brendan brings in old pal Lee

BRENDAN Rodgers will re-ignite a working relationship with Lee Congerton after Celtic unveiled the 43-year-old as their new head of recruitment.

Congerton and Rodgers first worked together at Chelsea and have stayed in touch as their careers moved in different directions. John Park left Celtic last October after a successful decade at the club overseeing Celtic’s recruitment process, credited with the significant signings of Virgil Van Dijk, Victor Wanyama and Fraser Forster. Congerton was sporting director at

Sunderland and has also held coaching positions with the Welsh FA and Liverpool as well as being the technical director in Germany with Hamburg.

And Rodgers is excited to get back to work with his former colleague.

“It is great news that we have been able to bring someone of Lee’s calibre to Celtic,” said Rodgers. “He brings knowledge, experience and excellence to such an important area of our work.

“We will always strive to be the best in everything we do and in Lee, we have brought the best to Celtic.”

And Congerton himself is keen to get to work. He said: “I am delighted to be joining a club of Celtic’s stature, it is a huge honour and I can’t wait to get started in making my contribution to such a fantastic institution. In recent years there has been some great work done in the recruitment and development of some high-quality playing talent. I am really looking forward to adding my experience in this area.

“I know Brendan well. I know how he works and the quality he aims for.”

Chief executive Peter Lawwell added: “Player recruitment is such a crucial function of the club and we are delighted to welcome Lee to Celtic to oversee this area.

“We are always looking to develop further, to drive the club forward and ensure that we continue our success in this area and deliver the best players we can to our supporters.

“Lee was the outstanding candidate for this position and we are sure he will deliver real impact.”