Paul Warne: Derby County boss on working with new head of recruitment Mark Thomas
- Published
Paul Warne was appointed Derby head coach on a four-year deal in September
Derby County boss Paul Warne says he is willing to get into a pair of swimming trunks to guarantee he has the final say on signings after Mark Thomas joined the Rams as head of recruitment.
Warne could not help but joke about what Thomas' arrival from Oxford means.
When asked about the new dynamic, Warne replied: "At the moment we're pretending it's a joint effort, then we'll get the speedos on to wrestle.
"We haven't wrestled yet. Once we do, he'll know I'm physically stronger."
On a more serious note, Warne said Thomas is a "good fit" for the recruitment role and sees him as a vital piece of the League One promotion-chasing club's future success.
"We are at the stage of the season where it's really tricky for us, because we don't know what league we are going to be in," Warne told BBC Radio Derby.
"You get to the stage where you start wining and dining really. You start casting your net out and you need someone to steer the ship.
"It's a real big cog in a real big system.
"I just thought he had really good processes in place and a wide picture of players in different countries.
"He understood where we are at, he understands this league. He is pretty aspirational but he will bring in actual strategies."
Wrestling is not something Warne genuinely intends to introduce to their working relationship, but the head coach did stress his stance on who has the final say on things.
"He could put players in front of me but, fundamentally, and this has been the case throughout, I am not going to sign a player just because a recruiter wants him in.
"If you do that, then straight away it's game over. If the head of recruitment thinks this player is going to be amazing and everyone agrees, but the manager and the coaching staff don't then it's 'go on then bring him in but he's not going to play'. It's just wasting time and money.
"His job is to try to get the ones I like in front of me. So if I want a winger who is always going to go on the outside and cross balls religiously and is fit as a flea, then it's his job to find it.
"We will try to collect a team together, a squad, that can be competitive next year whichever league we are in.
"I don't believe anybody has the overall say, apart from me."