Paul Watson: Swansea sporting director apologises for sitting next to Cardiff fan Nathan Jones
- Published
Paul Watson was appointed Swansea City sporting director in June 2023 after spending five years at Kenilworth Road in various roles with Luton Town
Swansea City sporting director Paul Watson insists he meant "no offence" to fans after being pictured with former Luton Town boss Nathan Jones.
Jones has made no secret of his support for Swansea's rivals Cardiff City.
Former Luton chief operating officer Watson faced fierce criticism after being pictured sitting next to his former colleague during the FA Cup defeat at Bournemouth.
"I worked with Nathan for five years," said Watson speaking at a fans forum.
"When I went to an away game, they put our seats together because they knew we'd worked together. On reflection, I apologise. It won't happen again. I certainly didn't mean to offend the fans."
Watson, 38, was speaking to fans at a supporters' event at the Swansea.com Stadium alongside chairman Andy Coleman and head coach Luke Williams.
Watson, as well as Coleman, faced a number of uncomfortable questions with both men using the open forum to defend the club's recruitment policy.
One fan accused their transfer activity of being "disastrous" and another asked if the number of loan signings had set the club up "to fail".
"I wouldn't say set up to fail. We are in a lot better place than we were last summer," said Watson.
"There were no scouts, no processes, no nothing. There wasn't a single person in the building, so the recruitment over the past few years, prior to us coming in, was almost on a whim. That couldn't last.
"So we're in a place now where we've brought five scouts in. I know there's a lot of noise around data, but that's just part of the process.
"We use recruitment data to help narrow down and guide us to where we should be and find a player that we want. We've got five scouts, we've got regional scouts, we cover as many games as we can.
"There is work to do in the summer, but we feel we are in a far better place to go and do that than before we started."
Chairman Coleman, who has promised to meet supporters twice a month in a new initiative aimed at improving communication, has also backed Watson's approach.
"I have unquestionable and unshakeable faith in Paul Watson," said Coleman.
"When he arrived last summer, not only was the system broken, but there was no system for recruitment here. It had been done haphazardly over the course of the last few seasons.
"When Paul got here the window was open, we needed a ton of players and there was no recruitment data or anything in place to give Paul the resources he needed.
"No sporting director will ever be 100% successful in signings. I knew it would take some time and it will still take some time to be more efficient on this.
"January was a better example of where we learned and how we will get better. But what's important to know is there is a lot of stuff that has to get better and I want everyone in this club to have everything they need to get the football club back where it needs to be.
"Paul has started to get the tools he needs, he is building a team and there is a ton of stuff going on behind the scenes. I need to give him the resources to do his job.
"Paul is here and I am confident he will get us to where we want to go."
At times passions ran high at the forum with one critic of the club's American ownership saying: "It feels like my club is being run by a Captain America comedy act and a Kenilworth Road tour guide."
In response Coleman said: "I'm fully aware I've not earned your trust yet. I have not done enough yet to earn your trust, but I'm not going to stop working to do that.
"I can't change mistakes made in the past, but I want to look forward and come together as a club so we can do things together.
"You can say I'm a puppet. None of that bothers me. The only thing that bothers me, that I don't ever want to hear you say, is that I don't care. Because I do care."