Honesty is the best policy - at least as far as Stuart Webber is concerned.
Huddersfield Town’s head of football operations says chairman Dean Hoyle’s reputation for transparency was a big attraction in him taking the job in July.
“It was a step up for me, which was great,” explained Webber, who was previously head of recruitment at Wolves and has also worked for Queens Park Rangers, Liverpool and Wrexham.
“When I started doing my research into the club, I heard good things about the people here, and that has been borne out.
“I discovered it was easy to get a decision on something, and that’s not always the case.
“It might not be the decision I want, and that’s fair enough, but Dean is a straightforward guy.
“He tells it how it is, and that’s all you can ask, and I know we can work together.
“In my line, there are two very frustrating scenarios after working for months to get a deal sorted.
“One is not being able to get a decision and the other is the decision being dependent on mood - which side of bed did the person making it get out of?
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“Here it’s more clear-cut, and I honestly think that gives us a better chance to achieve something.
“Dean told me at the outset that I would have scope to do things here, and he has been as good as his word.
“That’s how I work - honest and straight. I like to work hard, get a decision, and move on, nothing complicated.”
So what exactly does Webber’s role entail?
“Scouting and recruitment is still a key part of it,” said the 32-year-old, who was appointed after Ross Wilson’s departure to Southampton and is looking forward to working with incoming chief executive Julian Winter.
“My main aim is to ensure David Wagner can focus on what he does best - coaching.
“It’s about sorting out all our first-team support services - sports science, medical, the academy and the like.
“I look after day-to-day operation and co-ordinating of these areas, and future planning, because lack of planning leads to poor decisions, so David can concentrate on making our team better.
“We have a good relationship. Sometimes we disagree but we come to a joint decision for the benefit of the club.
”Then we go to Dean and sell it, David from a team point of view me from a club point of view.
“But Dean is hand-on and tends to be in the loop the whole time, and it seems to work quite well.
“Everything we do is for the benefit of club. We know the parameters and we have a chairman who is very straight, very black and white, yes or no.
“He lives five minutes away from the club, and that’s great.
“Sometimes when owners are based abroad, even the small things can take a long time.”
