Charlton Athletic technical director Andy Scott: There won’t be any firesale of our top talent

Dean Holden and Andy Scott are already playing their part in lining up Charlton Athletic’s January transfer window business.

New technical director Scott, one of four appointments announced on Tuesday, is confident there will be investment.

The question – unanswered at this juncture – is exactly who is providing the funds.

There continues to be speculation over groups interested in the club and former Sunderland director Charlie Methven appears to have been influential in the raft of changes in SE7.

Jim Rodwell has come in as chief operating officer with Holden appointed as Ben Garner’s successor and Ed Warrick taking on the role of finance director.

Methven has also formed a company with Warrick – SE7 Partners Ltd – which he told our paper would be the vehicle through which he would invest if he felt a deal worked.

“Whilst clearly neither he nor I have the financial wherewithal ourselves to fund a takeover of any club, let alone Charlton, under the right circumstances we would put a few quid in, and if we did then we would do so together,” said Methven, who was part of the takeover sale process at Sunderland.

Current Addicks owner Thomas Sandgaard had been in the UK at the start of the week but jetted out before Wednesday night’s EFL Cup victory over Brighton.

Our paper has been told that Rodwell is set to be the public front of the club moving forward.

Sandgaard has been contacted by us for an interview, but nothing had been lined up by the time our paper went to press.

Scott told the South London Press: “The only information I have got is from Jim about that there was myself, Jim, Ed and Dean coming in – four senior roles in a football club – with a remit to oversee and look at the football operations and feedback to the board about what improvements can be made or what is going well.

“But also to help with recruitment and bringing players in.

“If there is investment, I don’t know where it is coming from. I haven’t asked the question – that’s not my remit.

“I understand the questions. But if Thomas has got investment from elsewhere then no-one has told us. If he has got plans for the club, I don’t know. All I know is that to employ four people in those roles there has got to be some commitment to improving what is the football department. That was my major concern, that it was going to be a group that was committed to what they were doing.

“Other than that I don’t think either of us [him and Holden] know any more information.”

Epsom-born Scott, 50, has managed at Brentford, Rotherham United and Aldershot Town before moving into the recruitment side in 2015, initially with Brentford. He was also sporting director at Watford and held roles at Forest and Swansea City.

“I’d like to think there will be several players coming through the door and it’s also about if we can move a couple of players out,” he said. “Whether they are contributing, want to leave or their contracts are up in the summer and they won’t sign a new deal – whatever it may be – it is about looking at the squad and succession planning.

“We’ve got a really good group of young players coming through and we don’t want to block their pathway but we need to improve the side. Whether that is loans or permanents will be dependent on what we’ve got in the building already.

“Certainly I’d like to think there will be incomings and outgoings. If we can get players out that will obviously generate more funds to bring more players in.

“There are funds to bring players in, even if we don’t get anyone out.

“We need to look at what is beneficial. If a player moves on, what does that mean? How much money can we have and what can we get to replace them?

“We’re not dependent on players going out for them to come in. And we want to keep our best assets. There is not going to be a firesale – that is not on the agenda at all.

“That has never been mentioned that has got to happen. It won’t happen. We wouldn’t have come in if that had been the case.

Former Bristol City boss Holden, 43, said: “We still need to see up until January what is actually in the building, because we have been here just days. We need to look at personalities and characters – that’s massive.

“We’re not going to say publicly what positions we want and however many players we need, because it alerts other clubs. But in-house we’re already on it.

“I’ve never been told that information [about selling players]. We need to get away from the danger zone and start looking up.”

PICTURE: KYLE ANDREWS