Dom Hyam’s magnificent man-of-the-match display in the 2-0 win away to Norwich City at the weekend underlined the importance of good recruitment.

The defender, who has been outstanding all season, was one of six summer signings brought to the club by a Recruitment Department which was just in its infancy following the arrivals of new head coach Jon Dahl Tomasson and Director of Football Gregg Broughton.

Now, under the stewardship of Gus Williams, the department has grown significantly over recent weeks and months, with a number of key additions to the talented backroom team, who will be tasked with finding further footballing gems going forward.

Gus, who joined Rovers as Head of Player Recruitment in late July, said: “The last three months has been about building up your knowledge base and understanding of the playing pool that’s out there, across the UK and beyond, because that’s the investment that’s been made in the Recruitment Department.

“The investment in staff has been fundamental really, because if we’re recruiting the best on the pitch, then you need to recruit the best off the pitch as well. It’s been a long and robust process, but we now feel that we’ve got a more bona fide and structured department, which is what the club needed.

“We’ve got a Head of European Scouting, Head of UK Scouting, Head of Data Scouting and a Head of Emerging Talent, and all of those particular individuals will be complementing each other and working collaboratively to ensure that we do our very best to get the right players for the right positions into the club.

“It’s also got to be the right club for them as well, because they’re coming in wanting to improve and believing that they’re going to go on a good journey with us, and, as it stands, that has been quite fruitful for all of the guys who came in in the summer.

“Being third in the league at the halfway point in the season is a good indicator that the dynamics are working well within the squad, both on and off the pitch.”

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