As Jim McIntyre added another three names to his surplus to requirements list, the Dundee manager has held up St Johnstone boss Tommy Wright as a shining example of how to get your recruitment spot-on.
Lewis Spence and Jean Mendy have joined Sofien Moussa, Elton Ngwatala and Kharl Madianga in being told they can move on when the transfer window opens in a few days, while Marcus Haber, who is currently on loan at Falkirk, will not be coming back to Dens Park.
No manager has a 100% strike-rate with signings, McIntyre has admitted, but Wright’s long list of transfer market hits successes have played a big part in the recent Saints success story.
“Tommy’s recruitment in the summer has been very good,” said McIntyre ahead of tomorrow’s Tayside derby between the two sides.
“They have a good manager who knows what he’s doing.
“Any manager lives or dies by his recruitment, it doesn’t matter what level you are at.
“If you don’t recruit properly then you’re going to be in bother.
“Getting the right players is massive. It’s so important.
“You don’t get them all right but as a manager you have to get most right.
“If you can get the nucleus right then you can build around that, and that’s the key for me.
“I’d like to think we are all sitting in manager’s chairs because we know a bit about football.
“I don’t claim to be an expert by any manner of means, but most managers have a good idea on the game.
“And recruitment is huge.
“St Johnstone are a great example of it, going back to Derek McInnes’s team with the likes of Frazer Wright, Murray Davidson, Dave Mackay, Chris Millar and all those boys.
“They’ve had continuity and over time Tommy has brought the age of the squad down and changed things.
“As a model, they’re probably a club that other similar-sized ones should be looking at.”
On Spence, Mendy and Haber, McIntyre said: “We’ve had a couple of chats with some other players. Lewis Spence is another one that’s been told, if he can find a club, we will let him move on.
“Jean Mendy is another one that we feel won’t get as much game time as he would like. Marcus Haber will also leave as well.
“Sometimes you don’t need to change things, but quite clearly here we do, and we have got to freshen it up to give ourselves the best chance of staying in this division.
“The short-term goal here is to remain in the league and as I said the other day, you might not get what you’re looking for in January.
“But for me, types are hugely important. Getting the right type of players for this situation is crucial.”
