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" I think that July is a big month to make sure that the players we bring in, and the work we do on the training ground is right. If we can get the training right and the recruitment of another couple of players right then we are going to be a really decent side next season, and I am really looking forward to that. A lot of the work has been done in the last six or seven weeks and before that to try to make the deals happen.
" July 1st when players' contracts have officially ended is when the movement starts because players then aren't getting paid. So that is the time that they will start demanding stuff so the merry-go-round will probably start within the next two to three weeks and then things will look a little bit clearer, probably by mid-July.
" I think that your first squad is basically the bulk of your squad throughout the year. Yes we will add to it with loan signings, yes we will try to add to it in the window if things don't go our way. The first squad is the squad, it is your squad because you have got the pick of everything that is out there, or the best chance of getting what is out there.
" You haven't got the pick because we aren't Manchester United but the players that you want are there and it is basically when a lot of the changing hands goes on. Like I have always said, we work behind the bigger clubs. The movement will start at the top and then it will filter down to the Championship and filter into our league and we see who is available and we try to strike with the players that we have done our homework with.
" I don't how long it will take to be fair, we are close on a few but there is always things that happen. I never say that we are close or that we have done it until it is done. I am not trying to be clever with the answer but I am hopeful that by Monday or Tuesday we have done deals to sign two more players at least. That depends on the players and their demands and other clubs' interest and things like that, but I am hopeful that by Monday we could have brought two more players into the club.
" Obviously there is a well documented one in Matty Robson, and then there is another one that is a centre-forward. I won't give you the name of the centre-forward because everybody knows about Matty Robson but the other one is a centre-forward, he is a striker. He is a good player, he has done well against us in the past, he has played at a good level and he is the right type. "
" The Danny Graham situation hasn't been resolved yet so we have to wait and see what happens with that in terms of what club comes in for him and what sort of money is given for him. Then we will decide what we want to do with that, whether we want to get another striker or we are happy with what we have got.
" Remember that we have got Gary Madine in our club as well and at some point we have to give him the platform to tell us whether he is going to be a player or not for us. That will come in the pre-season, he will get his chances in pre-season, so he might surprise everybody and come back flying. It certainly won't be a surprise to us because we know what ability he has got.
" What we need to know is how quickly that is going to come out and will he play a part in the first team. If we think that is a positive then we might not be looking for another centre-forward. We might be happy with the one that we get and that is enough competition, because remember that we have got Joe Anyinsah as well, and we have got Scott Dobie, so we might be OK with that.
" I am not trying to be clever but if you get stuck in a traffic jam then you don't like it you, and we can't move until the one in front of us moves. That is what we are doing at the minute with Cleveland (Taylor) and Danny (Graham). Until Danny goes then we don't know where we are, we don't know what sort of money is going to come in.
" We don't know what is happening with Cleveland, I have got to speak to his agent again today. If I could tell you something about that then I would be delighted to, because I am anxious to move forward and I am anxious to give the fans the news that they want in terms of what is happening with new players.
" I can't do that at the minute and it is absolutely not my fault. I would love to tell you that Danny Graham has signed for such and such a club for £250,000 and that the club have given me "x" amount of pounds out of that to spend, and this is where I am going to spend it. I would love to be able to do that, I am frustrated at the minute because I am stuck in that traffic jam and I can't move anywhere because the car in front won't go. "
" Of course they could both still be here next season, a club has got to come in and give Danny the sort of deal that he is looking for. If that doesn't happen, and it hasn't happened yet, I am not saying that it won't, I would think that Danny and Danny's advisors have got something lined up. If it doesn't happen then he is back here and reports for training and we crack on with it.
" Joe Anyinsah won't become a more prominent option on the right if Cleveland goes, he is an option though because he can play there and so can Scott Dobie. It is like round pegs and round holes though, we have got to put players in the positions where we think that they are most effective for this team. If we think that Joe is most effective down the middle, if Cleveland goes then I will look for a right-sider.
" If we put Joe in that position and he looks like he can be a big threat against the other teams then we will put him in that position. He does look a real danger to me down the middle at the moment though, so I am not going to pigeon-hole him as a centre-forward or as a right-winger.
" The beauty of pre-season now for us is that we have got these friendlies where we can experiment a bit, try certain players in certain positions and then we will see where we need to bring players in and where we need to add to the quality of the side. We weren't fortunate enough to do that last season because every game was a pressure game in terms of we needed results, so we couldn't do much.
" We wanted to get Tom Aldred into the team to see how he fared, because he has done terrifically well playing for Scotland under-19s. We wanted to give Gary Madine a couple of games to see how he fared, we wanted to give young (Gavin) Rothery and (Michael) Burns a try out, but the situation never allowed us to do that because right to the wire we were fighting for our lives.
" We have done that now and now we have got to look forward and give everybody in this club, from Graham Kavanagh who is 36, right down to Gavin Rothery and Tom Aldred, who are 18 and 19 (ed - 21 and 18). "
" Brentford is the most important game, it is the only fixture that is important. The other pre-season games are important in terms of getting fit and giving me the chance to see players in different positions. That is the importance of them, the results don't carry any weight with me at all. Brentford is the only result and the only game that matters to be honest.
" These games are fitness games, they are terrific for the fans because we can see Premier League players come to the club. The pitch out the back is looking in unbelievable condition, it gives me a chance to view the players in different positions and different systems, and try to work out what we think is best for the big game, which without a doubt for me is Brentford.
" The young players are going to get pitch time in the pre-season friendlies, so they will tell us if they are ready. That will tell us if they can go in, you would anticipate sat here right now on June 25th that the team that starts the season will be your strongest most experienced side that you think can win a game. It is up to the ones behind that to change your train of thought there, it is up to them to produce performances in the pre-season friendlies, in the pre-season training and then in the early reserve team fixtures.
" If these lads show me that that they are better than lads that maybe you think in your head might start the season, then they are going in, they are going in this season there is no question. The players that deserve a shirt in the team will get it, and that will be down to their performances, their attitude and their determination.
" Players are different, some players will come back flying and some players need a pre-season. Pre-season is to get fit for the first game of the season. Some players come back and they are natural athletes and they can come back and do whatever they want away from the ground and come back naturally fit.
" Some players have to work at their fitness but I can guarantee you that by August 8th the players will be fit, the players will be absolutely flying. It is going to be a tough pre-season, the players know that, I know that, we are hopefully going to be fitter, stronger, quicker, better. You will find out how well we have done it in the first month of the season when the results start to kick in.
" It is alright us talking good words and talking the right things, it is the players that have got to put that into practice. What I have got to do is to make sure that they know the standards and the levels of fitness and energy that we require for the coming season. "