Former Carlisle United manager Greg Abbott has rejoined the club as head of recruitment.
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.”
Abbott, 58, first came to Brunton Park in July 2006 as assistant to Neil McDonald in League One, and was caretaker, winning five of his 10 games in charge, before he once again took the number two role under John Ward.
He once again stepped up when Ward moved on and was handed the position on a permanent basis in December 2008. He stayed in charge until September 2013, having taken the club to two Wembley finals, winning the JPT in 2011.
He has held coaching and managerial roles with Bradford City and Notts County and was head of football operations with Mansfield Town.
Most recently he has been in charge of recruitment at Solihull Moors, having overcome a cancer scare in 2018.
Simpson added: “When I was going through all of the names in my head I came up with Greg’s and I decided to have a conversation with him.
“He was so enthusiastic about coming back in. He’s been working at Solihull, so he had to get things done properly there, and he wanted to make sure that he treated them with respect.
“That’s why I’ve been really nervous over the last week about whether or not he was going to get it sorted because I knew he was a very valued member of their team.
“I was praying that they didn’t do everything to keep him there and I’m so pleased that he’s walked into the building today.
“He’s got great experience and he doesn’t half tick a lot of boxes. 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.”
Paul Gerrard retained
United have also announced that they have retained the services of first-team keeper coach Paul Gerrard.
Gerrard, 49, teamed up with Simpson on a short-term deal at the end of February as part of the backroom staff, with the manager making no secret of the fact that he wanted that relationship to extend beyond the end of this campaign.
“I’d heard such good things about him when I was looking for somebody 15 games ago and, I have to say, that has all been shown to be true.
“He’s so professional, and he has a great way with both the experienced and young keepers, and I’m just delighted that it’s another thing that we’ve been able to sort out quickly.
“He knows the club now, he loves being here and I know he’s really enjoyed being part of rebuilding the positivity that we’ve all seen return to the club.”
Meanwhile United have issued details of the players who are staying and the ones that are going.
Players already contracted for the 2022/23 season: Tristan Abrahams, Jack Armer, Lewis Bell, Kristian Dennis, Josh Dixon, Jordan Gibson, Callum Guy, Jon Mellish, Omari Patrick, Joel Senior, Tobi Sho-Silva and Corey Whelan.
Players with clauses activated for the 2022/23 season: Morgan Feeney.
Players offered new deals: Taylor Charters, Brennan Dickenson, Magnus Norman and Joe Riley.
Second-year scholars who have graduated: Gabriel Breeze, Jack Ellis, Sam Fishburn, Max Kilsby and Scott Simons.
Players released: Lewis Alessandra, Danny Devine, Mark Howard, Jamie Devitt, Manasse Mampala, Rod McDonald, Kelvin Mellor and Gime Toure.
Devitt will be invited back for pre-season training.
Loan players returning to their parent club: Lukas Jensen, Tyrese Omotoye, Mitchell Roberts, Dynel Simeu and Owen Windsor.
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