Charlton Athletic’s transfer window will be a team exercise – Holden and Scott on January plans

Dean Holden has talked about Charlton Athletic’s plans for the January transfer window being a team effort after the latest round of changes in the club’s hierarchy.

The Addicks appointed Jim Rodwell as their new chief operating officer on Tuesday with Andy Scott coming in as technical director.

Holden is the new boss, succeeding Ben Garner. He and Scott were both at the club’s U21 game against Fulham yesterday before taking in the EFL Cup win over Brighton from the directors’ box.

Scott sat between academy chief Steve Avory and director of recruitment Steve Gallen. Rodwell was between Holden and director of analysis Martin Sandgaard.

Holden told the South London Press: “We’ve been in two days. There have been a lot of messages come in from agents and we’re out looking at games as much as we can, when they are on – assessing what is out there. Then we get our heads together and Jim, Martin and Steve all sit together to look at the finances and decide.

“There’s a view of what it used to look like back in the day when one manager would pick all the players, sign all the players and do all the contracts. You’d always have a chief scout and someone to bounce off.

“Recently it has become a bit like at Liverpool, their famous transfer committee. That’s what modern football looks like. Pretty much every team in the top two divisions would have that type of sporting director, scouts, recruitment scouts, analytics, analysis to put it together. So when we get a player on the screen I think he will improve the team or not. If we do then we’ll sign them.”

Scott, who last role was head of scouting at Nottingham Forest, said: “I had a meeting with Steve yesterday and asked where the club had felt there were positions that needed strengthening. Discussions myself and Dean had had prior to walking through the door were very, very similar.

“We looked at what targets they had. Both myself and Dean can add some names – help Steve, the scouting team and Martin. We’ve got to do the due-diligence – as you would in any football club.

“I’ve got a lot of experience in football – Steve has as well. The scouts we have got means we should be bringing information together and then we can go and present to Dean the targets we’ve got and which are viable financially and from a playing style. It will be up Dean to decide which ones he wants and Steve will go off and try to get the deals done.

“Same as any process should work in a football club but we need to include everybody who is involved in the process to ensure we have an all-encompassing view of the player before they come in. They have got to be the right player, they’ve got to come into the first 11 and they’ve got to improve us.”

Holden added: “I’ve watched a lot of games, I’ve watched them live – I know a lot about the squad. But, at the same time, we’ve been here one day.

“You can’t get more than three points a game, so there is a step by step process to get to the top half of the table. Then in the second half of the season can we start looking up? To start with, you have got to look at where you are and get away from it. Three games in a week, next week, nine points available.”