Forget about star City recruits
6:31am Thursday 8th May 2008
Stuart McCall has told City fans to remain realistic about his summer transfer targets.
Various names are flying about as the annual speculation game kicks off in earnest now the season is over.
McCall is targeting as many as six new faces after cutting 13 from his squad last week.
Rumours are rife about possible arrivals, with Morecambe winger Garry Thompson, Huddersfield's Bradford-born midfielder Chris Brandon and prolific Mansfield hitman Michael Boulding all in the frame.
But McCall, who is avidly watching the current promotion play-offs for potential targets, is quick to put the lid on any expectations of capturing a genuine established star.
He said: "We'd all like a big-name star player but we have to face facts about where we are. We are a club in League Two at this moment in time and we don't pay massive wages.
"We're not going to lure anyone from the Championship or anything like that but as long as they are quality players for this level and are good enough to hopefully take us up, then that's all I want.
"Look at Peterborough last season, when they went and bought Walsall's two best players (Chris Westwood and Dean Keates) and got promoted. They weren't household names by any means but were good enough to get the job done."
McCall, who involved David Wetherall in his first official coaching get-together on Tuesday, is banking on the size of City's fan-base proving a strong factor in persuading players to join.
"We've had superb backing all season and you saw that from the number of supporters who came away to Wycombe for what was a fairly meaningless end-of-season game," he said.
"Players love to perform in front of big crowds and if it comes down to a toss-up between signing for us or a number of other clubs in League Two, then I would be disappointed to lose out.
"We are trying to nab players from higher divisions or the best ones from this level but the best players, at the moment, are contracted.
"We've got good players in the side but we just need to add four, five or six quality new ones. Then I'm confident we will be all right."
- Start or join a debate on this issue in our on-line forum - Click here