Andy Scott named Swansea City's new head of recruitment
Swansea City is delighted to announce the appointment of Andy Scott as the club’s new head of recruitment.
The 46-year-old former player and manager joins the Swans following a lengthy and thorough process to find the right candidate from a large field of high-quality applicants.
Scott most recently held similar positions at Brentford and Watford, winning a number of plaudits for his work at Griffin Park, which included identifying and signing the likes of Neal Maupay and Ollie Watkins.
And his proven track record in pinpointing young talent and long-term succession planning made him the outstanding candidate to fill the role.
Swansea City chairman, Trevor Birch, was delighted with the appointment: “It’s been a lengthy process, but one worth taking considering the excellent quality of the applicants.
“I believe Andy is the perfect fit for us and his experience means he can hit the ground running. I’m delighted with the appointment.
“He has experience of the Championship with Brentford, both as a manager and head of recruitment. The style of football and the player profiles at Brentford are similar to here at Swansea and the experience gained from the innovative way they used data analytics will be an added bonus. We hope to tap into that experience, while also learn from his time using a different recruitment philosophy at Watford.
“Andy will form an important part of the backroom team and give support to myself, Leon (Britton) and Steve (Cooper) behind the scenes.
“The aim has always been to put a professional recruitment structure in place to improve our due diligence in scouting players and enable the club to make better decisions which, in turn, should provide stability for the club going forward.’’
Ex-striker Scott began his playing career in the youth set-up at Wimbledon before dropping down to non-league level with Sutton United.
From there he got a move to Premier League Sheffield United in 1992 and spent five years at Bramall Lane, which included loan spells with Chesterfield and Bury.
He moved to Griffin Park to join Brentford in 1997, scoring on his debut and going on to help the Bees win promotion back to what is now League One in 1999 after relegation the previous season.
After four years in west London, Scott made the switch to Oxford – netting in a 2-1 win over the Swans during his time at the Manor Ground - and then Leyton Orient.
His playing career was brought to an end when he was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in 2005, and he went on to move into a youth coaching role with the Os. Following his experience Scott has since become a patron for Cardiac Risk in the Young.
In 2007, he returned to Brentford as assistant to Terry Butcher and - after a successful caretaker stint following the ex-England defender’s departure - soon took over the reins himself.
Gaining a reputation for astute business in the transfer market – including the signing of Jordan Rhodes among others – Scott led them to the League Two title in 2009, which was followed by ninth place in League One the next season.
The Bees went on to enjoy a fine run in the League Cup during the 2010-11 season, knocking out Premier League Hull and Everton, before Scott left the club in February 2011.
He went on to have managerial stints in charge of Rotherham and Aldershot, but was soon back at Brentford again; this time as chief scout.
He soon became head of recruitment, before making the switch to Premier League Watford in 2017, firstly becoming the Hornets’ UK football recruitment director and then sporting director.
He left Vicarage Road in April 2019 and will now get down to work at the Liberty Stadium.
