[Phil Whalley]

I don’t think my points have been taken at face value.

Molyneux clearly fits the bill at left-back (btw, didn’t realise he had so much experience there, thought he had played more in midfield), but since he can also beat a man and whip in a decent cross, my point was that he would be better employed left midfield in the system that we use. Why we don’t use the Liddle-Molyneux combo down the left is a bit of a puzzle, but if Leam wants to play Lee at left-back then we have to cope with the limitations of playing a striker in the more advanced wide position.

As for being disrespectful about Dean, I was trying to avoid naming names, but the reference to a forward looking out of sorts at right-back was about Craig Lindfield, who has never convinced me there, but then again, why should we expect a lad who has played up front all his career to suddenly fit in at right-back? As for Dean, of course he has nothing to prove. We’re lucky to have him and we all hope that he can avoid any further injury and regain full match fitness. That said, would you not agree that Dean is a natural born centre-half?

As for getting better players for the wages we pay, my point was that if the price of bringing in a player or two is that we have to trim the squad by the same amount, then that might be a gamble worth taking. Not because there are better players out there available for the same money (there might be, but finding them is difficult), but because we haven’t quite got the balance of the squad right. We’re not far off, but until we get there we will remain reliant on loanees, and I agree that it’s always preferable to develop your own players rather than play loanees.

Phil