James Collins says market will start moving as players begin to slip out of contract.
James Collins admits that the market is beginning to pick up gradually with players set to slip out of contract at the end of the month. The club’s first-team coach stresses that it is a period of ‘cat-and-mouse’ with clubs, players and their agents weighing up their options before committing their futures.
James told the club’s official web-site: “Recruitment will be key but what I have learned from working more closely with the first team is that it is not that easy.
“It is a real game of cat and mouse at the moment. The player and agent will be assessing their options and they have the power in that regard. They can wait because they are still in contract.
“We might be interested in a player but he might have a number of other clubs interested as well, so it can be exciting but also frustrating because you know that players are weighing up their options.
“What we cannot do is make too many mistakes. We are really focussing on getting the right player with the right character into the club.
He added: “Steve is constantly on the phone to agents. Times have changed. It is very rare that you get the opportunity to speak to the player directly, invite him up and then he signs.”