Johnnie Jackson: New head of football operations will make AFC Wimbledon a more professional environment
AFC Wimbledon’s new head of football operations Craig Cope will help make the League Two club a slicker operation, writes Edmund Brack.
That is the verdict of Dons boss Johnnie Jackson, who will work closely with Cope when he joins their payroll on January 9.
Cope is ending four years as technical director at National League side Solihull Moors. He has previously had recruitment and analytical roles at Nottingham Forest, Birmingham City, Notts County and Cheltenham Town.
He will oversee all of the club’s football operations including recruitment, scouting, analysis, technical and medical support, and all training ground logistics.
“Craig is going to be really important,” Jackson told the South London Press. “We’re delighted that he is on board, and he has got a great track record with the roles he has been doing previously. None more so than with Solihull and the recruitment side of things – how he built the recruitment process there is really impressive.
“With all the other stuff that he is going to help us with off the pitch, we’re trying to get the club moving forward all the time in a way with how we run it and how professional we look – try to make it an elite working environment.
“With these sorts of appointments, we’re making ourselves a better outfit in every department.”
Jamie Johnson, current head of transfers, will be staying at Plough Lane until the end of the January transfer window.
“Jamie has been absolutely outstanding in the short time he has been with us,” added Jackson.
“The way that he has helped us with recruitment has been absolutely bang on. The way he has fitted in with myself and the team has seen him become a really valuable member and he enjoys being a part of it.
“We love working together – I have a really good relationship with him. We will look at [whether he will stay beyond the January window] going forward – it will be a club decision.
“He’s working tirelessly towards this next window. He is fully on board with where we want to go with it and is helping us every day.”
PHOTO: KYLE ANDREWS