George Friend reveals how he prepared for Bristol Rovers role at Middlesbrough | OneFootball

Bristol Rovers director of football George Friend revealed he wanted to go into the recruitment side of the game from his Middlesbrough days.

Bristol Rovers director of football George Friend has revealed he knew he wanted to get into the recruitment side of the game since his Middlesbrough days.

The 37-year-old enjoyed a successful career that saw him turn out for Wolves, Boro and Birmingham City, among others, before he retired earlier this year following a spell with Bristol Rovers.

Upon his retirement, the Gas named Friend as the director of football, which gave Friend a lot of responsibility, particularly as he had no experience in that role.

George Friend reveals he always had ambitions to stay in football

However, speaking on the Keep Right On podcast, Friend explained that he always had an interest in recruitment, to the extent that he kept a ‘database’ on players, and looked to help clubs where possible when it came to completing signings.

“It was something I'd been working towards for probably the last decade. Back in Middlesbrough, I had a database of players while I was still playing, in a recruitment capacity, because I knew that was the avenue I wanted to go down.

“I was doing various courses. I used to help individual managers, clubs, whatever on a sort of freelance basis, unofficially in a recruitment capacity as well while I was playing. I'm glad I did all that work because it enabled me to transition pretty quickly into something to help Bristol Rovers and I’m thankful to the board, the staff here, they've been really behind me and helped me with that transition as well.”

George Friend will want to reach the top as a director of football

This gives an insight into what Friend is like, and he deserves credit for realising so early in his career that he wanted to carry on in football in a different capacity.

Clearly, he is someone who has ambitions, and you would expect that he wants to become the best director of football possible, which will mean reaching the highest level in that field.

But, the only concern for Friend right now will be Bristol Rovers, and he will know that he needs to prove himself with the League One outfit.

With the January window looming, he will hope to give Matt Taylor the players he needs to help the squad as they look to move clear of the relegation zone.

We know that Rovers won’t be in a position to splash huge sums, but this is where Friend and the rest of the recruitment team need to try and identify bargains that can improve the XI.