It wouldn’t be an interview worthy of the name in the month of December if it didn’t at least touch on the transfer window about to open, and that’s exactly what happened (again) when we sat down with manager Keith Millen late on Monday afternoon.
“The discussions since I came into the club have all said that there will be funds available in January, the board have been great in that respect,” he said. “They understand, and I’ve explained to them how I see things.
“We’ve gone through the squad and talked about what’s good and what needs to improve, so there’s an understanding of what we need to do in January to try and help the players we’ve got here.
“The cup runs are great, we’re still in one, and the money we get from that is a bonus, but it doesn’t affect what I can use in January.
“I will try and get as good a player or players as I can to make this club better, but if they aren’t there then I won’t bring players in for the sake of it.
“We’ve got a good squad, but if there are players available that will make us better, then of course I’m going to try and get them to the club.”
“The more I can promote this club and the positives about it, the easier it’s going to be to entice them here,” he continued. “It’s not easy because of where we are in the country, I’m learning that, but if they can understand what we’re trying to do in training, if they see we’re improving players, they need to be knowing they’re coming into a club with a positive, good environment.
“I can only control certain parts of that, but the budget is there to bring in better players. The cup runs have no bearing on that, which is great, because it means I know where I stand.
“The board know what my thinking is, we have regular communications and they’re very positive. We’ve got plenty of time and games before then, so we’ll concentrate on those first.”
Does the window bring with it a set number of targets?
“I haven’t set a number on how many players I’d like to bring in,” he told us. “We’ve got a decent sized squad already with good players.
“I’m always apprehensive about talking about bringing players in because it can be seen as disrespectful to the players we’ve already got.
“I’m trying to make the ones that are here better, and if there are players out there who will make us better, I will bring them in. The better we are, the easier my job is, and we’ll become a better team which we’ll all benefit from.
“You need competition for places, if there’s anyone in the team who doesn’t have competition, then that’s not good. They need to be different to what we’ve got and they need to come in and improve what we’re trying to do.
“I don’t need to bring players in for numbers, we’ve got good numbers and some good young players coming through, I don’t want to block their pathway up. I’ll make sure that anyone who does come in will help us and improve us.”
And the reassurances on budget and finances available are certain to make the task easier?
“In any transfer window, whatever position you’re going for, you need your top target who might be the most expensive player in terms of transfer fee or wage,” he explained. “If you can’t do that, then you need options.
“If you’ve got four or five different names at different levels, you’ll come to one you can get in. I’m going to get as good as I can, but there are so many things that come into the equation.
“They have to want to come here and they have to be the right personality. I always want to meet players to see if I get on with them.
“There are so many things that go into it, it’s not just about the money.”
Click HERE to watch an interview with Keith Millen on iFollow United now.
Click HERE to see a clip from this interview on our YouTube channel. Follow the same link for more FREE content right from the heart of the club.