Mowbray finally making progress in loan bid (From The Northern Echo)

Mowbray finally making progress in loan bid

8:00am Saturday 11th February 2012 in Middlesbrough FC News By Paul Fraser, Chief Football Writer

TONY MOWBRAY has told of the frustration he has faced in the loan market after admitting some progress has finally been made in attempts to bolster his Middlesbrough squad.

After weeks of battling on with a raft of injuries, Mowbray believes the indications he has been getting from other clubs is that he could soon be adding to his pool of players.

But, speaking ahead of today's Championship fixture at Ipswich Town, he is unlikely to bring in anyone before Tuesday's visit from Nottingham Forest to the Riverside Stadium.

After the Forest match, Middlesbrough are not in action until the trip to Millwall on Tuesday, February 21 because of the Lions' progress through to the fifth round of the FA Cup.

By then Mowbray, aware that players signed on the maximum 93 days emergency loan after next Friday would be eligible to play in the Championship play-off final on May 19, could have added to his squad.

"We have some targets that we are trying to do," said the Boro boss, who is still on the look out for another striker and a player capable of filling a number of positions.

"The next game is the important one, but picture the frustration of signing someone who comes in and does really well for us. We then just miss automatic promotion, finish third and we get through a two-legged play-off final and his 93-days runs out two days before Wembley.

"He has 15 goals between now and then and he can't play. The negativity surrounding that is huge. There's always a balance in your mind. Do I wait a few extra days or do I sign him now so he can play straight away?"

With that in mind he is unlikely to have added to his squad before next Friday, which would, he admits, provide further opportunities for those currently at his disposal to step up to the mark.

Nigerian Bartholomew Ogbeche and Dutchman Marvin Emnes are both in contention to start at Ipswich after shrugging off injuries, but the performance of Curtis Main against Sunderland in midweek has given him plenty of food for thought going forward.

"We are getting players back, so it could also be that Curtis scores, does well at Ipswich if he plays and then does the same against Forest," said Mowbray. "Then we might be thinking we might not need a new striker. Let's leave it. Anything we think we could be close to could soon be shot dead. We can't be banking on anything."

Regardless of the positions he will fill, Mowbray has made up his mind that his squad needs adding to. He has, though, found the last month or so to be a really challenging experience, given Lukas Jutkiewicz was the only new arrival during January.

"You wouldn't believe the issues surrounding deals," he said. "It's not about picking up a phone and getting a deal done. It's very complex.

"Most managers don't want to let their fringe players go. Outside the top six in the Premier League, they're all looking over their shoulders to make sure they get enough points. "I'm the same when Football League clubs come in and ask about some of our younger players. If I'd have let Curtis Main - and the phone never stopped ringing for him - or Adam Reach go out on loan, they would never have had the opportunity to play the other night against Sunderland. We are trying hard. The chairman is being supportive. If the right player is there we will try to do it."

Despite having some money to reinvest in his squad, it is wage budgets rather than transfer funds he is having to adhere to. After spells in charge of Hibernian, West Brom and Celtic, having little cash to spend is not something new to him.

He said: "It's pretty normal. At West Brom we generated our own money through sales. We sold (Curtis) Davies for £11m, we sold Diomansy Kamara for £5.3m and then (Jason) Koumas for £4m.

"Then we could reinvest in the (James) Morrisons, the (Chris) Brunts, the (Graham) Dorrans. I would prefer to have a £50 warchest to build a team, but there's not many who get to that level of support.

"We haven't got that at the moment and I would like to think that sort of financial support will come around at some point. Then we can build a successful football club."

Despite being encouraged by news on the injury front, the Middlesbrough squad travelled to Suffolk last night without Barry Robson and Faris Haroun. There were also a couple of other injury concerns, but Mowbray chose not to reveal the identities.

"Ipswich are unpredictable and they can score goals," said Mowbray, whose side have dropped to sixth and sit five points adrift of second place Southampton."They can ask questions and they have some dangerous players. But we have to ask questions of them. We will try to be positive and ask questions of their perceived weakness in their defence, which is an inability to keep clean sheets.

"They will see an opportunity against a team that has gone extra-time in midweek. We can't worry about that. We have to exploit their weaknesses."