Academy head Richard Stevens welcomes new head of recruitment Carl McNally to the Sky Blues' youth setup
Coventry City are delighted to announce Carl McNally as the new head of Academy recruitment.
Birmingham-born McNally comes into the City Academy tasked with managing the process of sourcing and recruiting the next generation of young talent from the Under-9s up to Under-18s level.
Having seen the likes of Callum Wilson, Conor Thomas, Jordan Clarke and Jordan Willis progress to first-team from the Academy over recent years, McNally has targeted a recruitment drive in Coventry and Warwickshire.
McNally said: "I can't wait to get stuck into the new role. I've worked for the club for over four years part-time and seen a lot of talented youngsters progress into the first-team so I'm hoping I can keep that high standard up.
"Having been in charge of the Birmingham area scouting team, and considering how competitive the area, we did really well bringing over lots of talented youngsters from that area.
"I'll be in charge of all of the Academy recruitment, up to and including the Under-18s. I want to look at the local area and develop our scouting network around Coventry and Warwickshire as well as the West Midlands.
"It's important to have a good team of scouts working behind me and we have some specific age groups we need to target so I'm looking forward to the challenge and it's crucial that we forge good links and working relationships with local junior clubs, schools, associations and development centres.
"I chose Coventry because the environment and structure is already in place and the pathway to the first team is there for the talented and gifted footballer with the correct attitude, work ethic and desire. It is a great role and I'm delighted to join Coventry City's successful Academy in a role where I can contribute to the long-term success of the club."
Academy Manager Richard Stevens believes the appointment will help achieve the aim of having local and talented footballers playing for Coventry City in the future.
Stevens said: "The head of recruitment role is something every Academy thrives on. I think Carl's appointment will bring structure and stability to our Academy set-up.
"I want to lock down the city of Coventry. We're the local football club and we should be giving local footballers the chance to play for Coventry City.
"With Carl McNally coming in, our main focus is to make sure any gifted and talented young footballer from Coventry and Warwickshire will get a chance in our Academy.
"There is nothing better as a fan of a football club than to see local players representing your football team and that has to be the aim through our recruitment."