Baker honest enough to admit that mistakes were made last summer

Neil Baker has told the club’s web-site that last summer’s recruitment wasn’t good enough but the appointment of chief scout Chris Johnson will certainly help this time around. The Alex boss Steve Davis will be looking for two or three new recruits to bolster his team for next season with a new goalkeeper and forward topping the priority list. Johnson has been brought in to assist with highlighting potential targets but the final decision will always rest with the management.

Baker told crewealex.net: “We know that our recruitment wasn’t good enough last season. We have had addressed that by appointing Chris Johnson as a chief scout.

“The board asked how we could improve on our recruitment and they agreed that the appointment of a chief scout would help. We haven’t had one since Glyn Chamberlain left the club and Chris will help us with the contacts he has and the time he has to watch games and players.

“What we didn’t get right was knowing the character of the players we were bringing in. You can speak to managers, players and coaches but until you get them in you never really know. It is not easy and it is something we will look to improve on.

“We will all look to improve on getting the signings right and knowing more about their background and character. They will have to fit into the philosophy here and add something to the football club.

We will get the PFA list shortly will about 1,000 players on it and we will know the young players who have been released by the bigger clubs or released from their Academies.  “We are looking at all areas. We are looking at the non-league and the players that have been released.

“Chris is good at his job and he will be an important additional to our staff.”