O’Neill Coming To Terms With Market

Martin O’Neill has insisted that he has not missed out on any player transfer targets and says there will be new arrivals before the month is out.

He told the official site:

‘Rest assured, we will have the players in. There are things in place at this moment. How many? It is hard to say but by the end of the window I would not want to be outnumbered in the sense of who has gone out and who has come in, so we have a few to bring in. I am in the throes of acquiring some more players at the moment. I have allowed some players to go and the chairman has allowed me to run the football club in the fashion I am doing.’

He also says that although he would rather wait and pay less, the market dictates the price and: ‘In an ideal world I would have liked to have had a couple of other players in but between now and transfer deadline, we will have them in. I am absolutely sure.’

And to try to re-assure us: ‘The fans will think we are losing some players and the reinforcements have not come in – but they will be there. Sometimes prices dictate a few things. I don’t mind paying slightly over the odds for someone. I don’t mind paying over the odds in a market where that is what people are doing. But sometimes when it is an enormous amount, I’ll have to maybe reconsider. It is trying to get in the players I want and it’s trying to get value for money. If the two equate, great. I am trying to run a club as diligently as I can but at the same time am aware if you don’t compete, you don’t count. It is a balancing act.’

And on the balancing act he explains: ‘I haven’t missed out on any of the main targets. It is just that the price keeps changing and it is me coming to terms with it. It does make it a bit more difficult but not impossible. There is no point in me carping on about November and December of last year when we had a severely depleted squad and finding out we are doing exactly the same this time around.’

I’m not sure I always understand what he is saying, but I do always enjoy his quotes. Hopefully he comes to terms with it all nice and quickly, then we can all stop moaning and fighting and get on with enjoying watching us compete for Europe. Or at least that is the theory, not sure things are ever quite that simple for us Villa fans, are they?