SPORTS scientists may be a relatively recent development at League One level, but their importance now is such that Karl Robinson described Chris Short as a “massive signing”.

The 48-year-old former defender, who played in the top flight for Notts County, began work at the U’s yesterday.

He replaced Scott Daly, whose final game at the club was last weekend, and arrived hours after Blackpool’s Carabao Cup tie at Arsenal.

Short’s post-playing CV also includes Leicester City, where he worked with U’s first-team coach Derek Fazackerley, Crystal Palace and Sheffield United.

It had been in the works for several weeks and he is the first of what Robinson hopes will be multiple appointments in the near future.

A decade ago few clubs at United’s level would have had such a role and the head coach felt most people still underestimate the importance of Short’s position.

“It’s a massive signing for us,” he said. “It doesn’t mean what went before was wrong, it was fantastic, but when somebody moves on you’ve got to make sure you get the ideal candidate.

“People don’t realise – your head of recruitment and your sports scientist are the two biggest roles in the club.

“If you’ve got bad players you can make them a little better, but you can’t make them very good and if your players aren’t fit they can’t run.

“I’ve always looked as a manager at these two components as vastly important.

“I’m really excited about this, it’s just as big as a player for me.”

Short joins a coaching staff he already knows well. On top of working with Fazackerley, fellow U’s coach Shaun Derry is a familiar face after his playing days at Meadow Lane and Bramall Lane.

Joining mid-season means there will be no sweeping changes, but they are not needed from what Short has seen of United’s operation.

He said: “Already I’ve been very impressed with what’s been set up.

“You maybe filter things in over a period of time and make slight adjustments instead of wholesale changes.

“I know they’ve got good players here and have had a good period of form, so for me to change things radically would be foolish.

“I’ve been fortunate to work at some good clubs with good facilities.

“This is impressive and looks like it’s going to develop – at League One level it’s got to be one of the best out there.”

He added: “I’ve come in and been bombarded with data. It’s good, there’s no hiding place for players now and there’s so many ways to analyse how they do.

“You can get overloaded and sometimes you have to use instincts, but the game has certainly progressed since I packed in playing.”