Leeds boss set for player talks
leedsunited.com 30/12/13
United boss outlines his January plans...
Brian McDermott is stepping up his efforts to bolster his squad ahead of the opening January transfer window.
“I was meeting with a player on Monday,” revealed the boss.
“One player that I was going to go for is looking like he is going to the Premier League so that one has gone. But I’m meeting with a player on Monday and I’ll be having a conversation with him and his agent to try and do a deal.”
The boss says he has identified a small number of players he is interested in and is in ongoing discussions with the club’s owners about potential moves in January.
“I’ve never put the owners under any pressure to do anything that they don’t want to do and what they don’t feel is right for the club,” said the boss.
“I think that it is evident that we do need to add and help out the players that are already at the club.
“I’ve spoken to the Chief Executive and I’ve got three or four players that I would be interested in trying to do deals with. We have to then try and do something with that. That is how it works. If we can, we can, if we can't, we can't.
“If we can do a deal with the player and if we can do a deal with the club then I’m sure a lot of players would want to come to Leeds United.”
Despite all the talk of strengthening, the boss has been quick to praise the efforts of his current squad.
“I think that we have got a solid base now,” he said. “Scott Wootton is not in the team at this moment in time, Stephen Warnock is not in the team and Sam Byram hasn’t been playing. So if you look at that we look ok.
“You look at it and you try to find the right options. I felt that against Barnsley and against Blackpool that we were solid. I though that we were unfortunate not to come away with 1-0 results. If that would have happened at Blackpool we would have said that it was a decent away performance.
“I thought that it was an ok away performance but maybe you need something different sometimes. You need someone to just make the difference with the ball. Someone who can just create that little chance that could win you the game 1-0.
“Ross is doing it. Ross is doing something that little bit different. He is a match winner and he did that against Doncaster when it was 1-0 and he scored an unbelievable goal.
“Sometimes you just find a player that fits into a team and that just works. That happened for me at Reading with Jason Roberts. Jason was available and we took him. He was a big character and he lifted the dressing room.
“Sometimes a player like that can just make that difference. People stand up and look at him as a character as someone who has been there, seen it and done it. They are the sort of players but they are few and far between.”
United boss outlines his January plans...
Brian McDermott is stepping up his efforts to bolster his squad ahead of the opening January transfer window.
“I was meeting with a player on Monday,” revealed the boss.
“One player that I was going to go for is looking like he is going to the Premier League so that one has gone. But I’m meeting with a player on Monday and I’ll be having a conversation with him and his agent to try and do a deal.”
The boss says he has identified a small number of players he is interested in and is in ongoing discussions with the club’s owners about potential moves in January.
“I’ve never put the owners under any pressure to do anything that they don’t want to do and what they don’t feel is right for the club,” said the boss.
“I think that it is evident that we do need to add and help out the players that are already at the club.
“I’ve spoken to the Chief Executive and I’ve got three or four players that I would be interested in trying to do deals with. We have to then try and do something with that. That is how it works. If we can, we can, if we can't, we can't.
“If we can do a deal with the player and if we can do a deal with the club then I’m sure a lot of players would want to come to Leeds United.”
Despite all the talk of strengthening, the boss has been quick to praise the efforts of his current squad.
“I think that we have got a solid base now,” he said. “Scott Wootton is not in the team at this moment in time, Stephen Warnock is not in the team and Sam Byram hasn’t been playing. So if you look at that we look ok.
“You look at it and you try to find the right options. I felt that against Barnsley and against Blackpool that we were solid. I though that we were unfortunate not to come away with 1-0 results. If that would have happened at Blackpool we would have said that it was a decent away performance.
“I thought that it was an ok away performance but maybe you need something different sometimes. You need someone to just make the difference with the ball. Someone who can just create that little chance that could win you the game 1-0.
“Ross is doing it. Ross is doing something that little bit different. He is a match winner and he did that against Doncaster when it was 1-0 and he scored an unbelievable goal.
“Sometimes you just find a player that fits into a team and that just works. That happened for me at Reading with Jason Roberts. Jason was available and we took him. He was a big character and he lifted the dressing room.
“Sometimes a player like that can just make that difference. People stand up and look at him as a character as someone who has been there, seen it and done it. They are the sort of players but they are few and far between.”