Carlisle United welcome back Greg Abbott as head of recruitment

Greg Abbott is set to return to Carlisle United as head of recruitment.

The 58-year-old has been welcomed back by manager Paul Simpson who said he "delighted" with the decision.

Abbott first came to Brunton Park in July 2006 as assistant to Neil McDonald in League One.

He was then manager on a permanent basis in December 2008 and stayed until September 2013.

Manager Paul Simpson said: "I’m delighted to get this one over the line. When I was thinking about this, looking to get a head of recruitment into the building, I knew that I needed somebody who is experienced, and somebody who knows the leagues that we’ll be fishing in.

"We’ll be looking at the National League, some of League One and League Two, and maybe at the possibility of taking some Championship players out on loan, and some of the emerging younger players from the Premier League.

"I wanted somebody here who knew that, and who knows how to tap into it. I also wanted somebody who knows what it’s like to be part of Carlisle United, and who knows where Carlisle is, because that’s a challenge in itself."

Most recently Abbott has been in charge of recruitment at Solihull Moors, after overcoming a cancer scare in 2018.

Simpson said he was "nervous" about getting the deal sorted due to Abbott being a value member of Solihull Moors.

Simpson added: "He’s got great experience and he doesn’t half tick a lot of boxes. I think you have to have that.

"I see clubs appointing inexperienced, young people into these positions as heads of recruitment and all of these talent ID roles, but I’m a bit old school.

"I like the new methods, I like the data and video analysis, and all of that, but you can’t beat an experienced football person who has got the grey hairs and who has been there and seen it and done it.

"I think he’ll be a really good addition to our team."