United chief executive David Allen spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria's Paul Newton on Friday evening about the latest transfer news at Brunton Park, Allen also speaking about some ground improvements that are in the pipeline :
" Richard (Keogh) was on loan last season and I know that everybody was impressed him. It has just taken a long time to secure him but I think that this is John Ward's style isn't, take your time and do it right. The fee is undisclosed in this case because it is Bristol City and the agent who have asked us not to say anything, so we have got to respect that. It's just like not wanting people to know your wages though, so sometimes financial things are better kept quiet.
" Richard has come in and obviously David Mooney is a big disappointment. Negotiations went on for an awful long time to try to get him, and he is a fantastic striker so we are disappointed about David. We have got a really good scouting network, they are out all over the country, in Scotland and also all over Ireland. For us strengthening the squad isn't just a two month job, it is a long process. If we don't get people now then we will be looking to for it to come in January, and the scouts are looking for people to come next summer.
" I think our bid for David Mooney has already been out and talked about, our bid was around and about the £150,000 mark, which would have been a record for us. At the time we thought that was about right, Reading were determined to get him and there were also other clubs after him. It was even rumoured that Roy Keane from Sunderland was over there watching him. Other clubs have been after him but he has gone to Reading because he said that he wanted to play Championship football this season, so once he was determined to do that we had to stand back.
" I think that the supporters do see a bit of ambition, I know that we were pretty quiet at the time and that is our style, we are not going to go shouting about things that we can't deliver. We just want to be doing things nice and steadily and get it right. There is a good feeling down the club and we just want to work away and get it right. There are an awful lot of good things happening there as well as on the pitch and in the team, everything else down there is great.
" The trouble with disclosing the David Mooney offer is that people might see much how we have, so that is we don't normally say anything about money at all. We are happy to talk about the £150,000 that we mentioned for David Mooney though because sometimes it comes out from their agent and the other side. So once it comes out from the other side there is no point saying that we didn't offer that, we just want to be straight and honest. "
" I would bow to John Ward's judgement on signings so whatever John is doing is right with me, absolutely. You can't just go out and buy superstar players because they don't always want to come when you are in League One. Our idea is to strengthen it steadily, the scouts are out, we are looking for, as I've already said, players that will come in in January and come in next season. We will work away and do what is right, that is the plan.
" There are definitely no plans for any players to go at the moment, I know that there has been a little bit of tittle-tattle with Richard Keogh coming in that Danny Livesey will be going out now. That is the certainly not the case though so that one is knocked on the head now.
" We are starting to try to be more open, bear in mind that we have only been there a few weeks and we can't do everything at once. We are starting though and hopefully over the next few months people will see things happening that show that we just want openness, people to see what we are doing and for the fans to be part of the club.
" We are listening to them already, we have been having some talks this week with the Building Inspector about just having some more bar facilities in the Paddock. Little things like that just to help the fans, so we are working away, the fans were absolutely right about the other Paddock bar.
" We have had a good look at it and our idea is that we will have a bar at the Warwick Road End of the Paddock that you can get into from the back wall of the Paddock, so we are doing that now. Where the squash court was there is a gym on the ground floor, so we will put a new first floor in there which will be at the right height just to walk into level from the back of the Paddock stand. "
" Firstly let me thank the just under 7,000 fans who did turn up for the Crewe game, we really appreciate that. It was just over 6,900, although that is disappointing we were the fourth highest gate in League One, so I don't want to criticise it too much. I just want to thank the people who came, hopefully the people who did come were excited by what they saw. It wasn't just the end result that was good, the play on the pitch was fantastic, everybody is absolutely chuffed with that. Hopefully those people will be going home and telling their families, their friends and their neighbours.
" Just come down and enjoy good football at Brunton Park, it isn't the price of the tickets that scare people away because we have kept the ticket prices the same as last season. People can come and stand in the Paddock, if you buy your ticket beforehand it is only £14 for an adult, so it isn't out of the way. I saw somebody in the town the other day, they had paid £33 to travel all the way to Leeds and watch them, and they would have seen better football at Workington.
" I don't want to comment too much on 10 or 20 years time, but certainly in five years time we will definitely be at Brunton Park. Our plans are to work on the stadium there, I know that is not fantastic at the moment but it is in the right place. It is handy for people to walk from the town and it is just off the motorway, it is in the right place. We have got some plans for the Cumberland Building Society stand, hopefully we will get those boxes opened up up there and some more facilities over the other side.
" We are going to hopefully have a new lounge and executive lounge for players and players' wives and people to go into on this side as well, so we'll work away as we are for now. When you look at the stand on this side the Waterworks End does not look fantastic but we want to concentrate on the squad for now, concentrate on the pitch, the pitch is fantastic, when the time is right then we will develop it.
" Hopefully people will see the training session as one of the steps in the openness, an open training session. I know that it is no fantastic big deal but at least people can come down, they can come into the ground and they can see the players training on the pitch. Greg Abbott will be there with a microphone and Dennis (Booth) explaining what the players are doing, just come down and get involved. "