Alex Neil’s pre Sheffield United press conference was less about the team we’re facing tomorrow, and more about injuries and incoming transfers, with the gaffer looking more frustrated by the day.
WINCHESTER
"Unfortunately for us, at the moment, Winnie is injured, so he's out for a little while. I think he's due to see the specialist tomorrow, so we'll get a better idea of that one then. That's why, at the moment, he isn't in contention for a role in the back line. It's a problem with his lower back and we'll find out the full extent once he's seen the specialist."
BALLARD’S QUALITY
"Yeah, Dan has been a key signing for us, he's got mobility, he's good on the ball, big and strong, his best years are ahead of him. He's everything we want in a signing. Realistically, those players are really, really hard to come by, particularly for what we can afford. I could give you a list of players right now - in fact I've got a list in my drawer - but the difficult part is considering what you can get for where we are, and what we're trying to do."
JEWISON BENETTE
“I can’t tell you anything. You’ve just told me his name, maybe you know more than me. I’m not trying to be awkward, but what do you want me to say about it? There’s nothing to say until something happens – or if something happens.”
BUDGET ISSUES?
“The only way to arguably judge it in terms of where you expect it to be is probably based around budget as much as anything else. I don’t know how else you do grade it. We’ve got a budget where we are going to do as best as we can."
IN THE MIDDLE
“It’s certainly not one that is at the top of the division but it’s not the lowest in the division either so there is a lot of teams where you can get really good deals done but honestly you have got to sift through a lot of stuff at times to get there. I think it’s impossible to do it all now yourself. I don’t think any club that I’m aware of is structured that way anymore”
STRUCTURE OF A TRANSFER
“Naturally what you’ve got is people that are dealing with players that we want to find and recruit that suit our style. Then you have got people in charge of the finances and then I’ve got my bit where it’s the team and my preferences in terms of what the potential candidates would look like.”
PRICED OUT OF DEALS
“Equally, there has got to be some sort of structure and some sort of top and tailing in terms of what you can and can’t afford. Because what happens is costs completely spiral out of control and that’s where we are talking about our expectations for that for this year.”
BUDGET WIGGLE ROOM
“I can't knock any more. There's no door any more. I've knocked it down.”
