Cheltenham boss Keith Downing has admitted his ambitions for the club are the reason for a lack off transfer dealings as he searches for better quality players.
The Robins' manager is yet to land the additional striker the club needs despite the season kicking off tomorrow. But Downing won’t settle for anyone as he aims to cement the club in the League One and is confident he will produce the goods before the transfer window closes on August 31.
He said: “We’re going for the better quality player this summer and that’s probably why we’ve had more frustrations.
“Don’t get me wrong there’s players out there and I’m sure people will say well why haven’t you got him and he’s available etc, but to get the right one for Cheltenham is the key.
“I remember sitting here in October time (last year) and probably more pressure was on us then. I took my time in considering the best players for the jobs and, I wouldn’t say I got it right, but we were successful in terms of survival.
“Now I want to get it right in terms of becoming a mid-table team. Ideally, it would be lovely to get all the three or four faces in prior to this week but that’s not been the case. It’s not been for the want of trying.”
Bristol City’s Kevin Betsy is being chased by two other clubs and has a contract situation to work himself out of. Geoff Horsfield, who trained with the club on Monday, has personal demands likely to be beyond them. And Stuart Fleetwood has eight other admirers chasing his loan signature before he has even decided to leave Charlton.
“Off the field it’s been a little bit frustrating in terms of not getting the targets that you want,” said Downing. “But that doesn’t stop you from pursuing other ones and although it’s not immediate or in the first game I’m still optimistic that by the end of August we will have the players that we want.
At the same time Downing reassured fans he hasn’t taken his eye off the players at his disposal ahead of the team’s opening League One encounter against Northampton during his exhausting search.
“I would say that a lot of my time in the last couple of weeks has been regarding getting players in but I still think you have to take care of what people are here and wanting to play for this football club.
“You have to look after them. I haven’t taken my eye off the ball so to speak regarding Northampton just because there’re targets to go and get.
“The last five or six weeks I’ve been encouraged by what I’ve seen on the field and the existing players that we’ve kept have done really, really well.
“Northampton surprised a lot last year. They are a side that I look to in terms of trying to reach that standard and get to the top half. It’s a tough opening test for us.”
Shane Duff and Michael Townsend are back in contention after recovering from injury but there are still doubts over Scott Brown and youngster Theo Lewis miss out with an ankle injury.
The Robins' manager is yet to land the additional striker the club needs despite the season kicking off tomorrow. But Downing won’t settle for anyone as he aims to cement the club in the League One and is confident he will produce the goods before the transfer window closes on August 31.
He said: “We’re going for the better quality player this summer and that’s probably why we’ve had more frustrations.
“Don’t get me wrong there’s players out there and I’m sure people will say well why haven’t you got him and he’s available etc, but to get the right one for Cheltenham is the key.
“I remember sitting here in October time (last year) and probably more pressure was on us then. I took my time in considering the best players for the jobs and, I wouldn’t say I got it right, but we were successful in terms of survival.
“Now I want to get it right in terms of becoming a mid-table team. Ideally, it would be lovely to get all the three or four faces in prior to this week but that’s not been the case. It’s not been for the want of trying.”
Bristol City’s Kevin Betsy is being chased by two other clubs and has a contract situation to work himself out of. Geoff Horsfield, who trained with the club on Monday, has personal demands likely to be beyond them. And Stuart Fleetwood has eight other admirers chasing his loan signature before he has even decided to leave Charlton.
“Off the field it’s been a little bit frustrating in terms of not getting the targets that you want,” said Downing. “But that doesn’t stop you from pursuing other ones and although it’s not immediate or in the first game I’m still optimistic that by the end of August we will have the players that we want.
At the same time Downing reassured fans he hasn’t taken his eye off the players at his disposal ahead of the team’s opening League One encounter against Northampton during his exhausting search.
“I would say that a lot of my time in the last couple of weeks has been regarding getting players in but I still think you have to take care of what people are here and wanting to play for this football club.
“You have to look after them. I haven’t taken my eye off the ball so to speak regarding Northampton just because there’re targets to go and get.
“The last five or six weeks I’ve been encouraged by what I’ve seen on the field and the existing players that we’ve kept have done really, really well.
“Northampton surprised a lot last year. They are a side that I look to in terms of trying to reach that standard and get to the top half. It’s a tough opening test for us.”
Shane Duff and Michael Townsend are back in contention after recovering from injury but there are still doubts over Scott Brown and youngster Theo Lewis miss out with an ankle injury.
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