ANDY GRAHAM is on the hunt for the “right kind of player” before making any loan deals for this season.
The Wasps boss was asked about the loan market during the Alloa Athletic Season Ticket Holder Q&A session, held at the Indodrill Stadium on Thursday evening.
Asked about when loans would be coming in, Graham explained that it wasn’t as simple as signing the first player he saw, instead wanting to wait until he found somebody who would improve the team.
“I’m really pleased with the start to the season,” Graham said. “We’re always looking to add to the squad.
“We know that the loan market will open up a little bit because we need to wait for the bigger teams getting their squads together.
“We’ll hopefully add to the squad over the next couple of weeks – it’s difficult to do as we need to wait for bigger clubs to let players go out on loan.
“We’re having to deal with injuries but we need to make sure we get the right person in.
“There’s no sense in just going out and sign a player because we need a player, it’s got to be someone who can come in and improve the squad and make an impact.”
Alloa’s business so far this season has seen Shay Nevans, Kane Thomson and Calum Waters come to the club on permanent deals.
With the window now closed, the club will turn their attention to the loan market, with supporters wanting to see additions made in Alloa’s attacking line.
Graham revealed that he has had players offered to the club, but these offers were turned down as he wanted to find somebody who fit the team.
He went on: “I was keen to bring in players who improve what we’ve got and as far as I’m concerned, the players that have been offered to me and that we’ve looked at aren’t better than what we’ve got.
“It’s really important to wait on that and be patient – look at last season, we didn’t bring Bobby [Wales] in until the last week of September.
“It’s important to get the right one in – we need a bit more help up front.
“It’s not just a case of signing one striker and that’ll be it, it needs to be a team effort and we’re looking to strengthen.
“Up front is the area that we’re looking at at the moment – we’re out watching games all the time and it’s about making sure we get the right one in.
“We’ve been offered a lot of different players but I didn’t think they particular suited the way we played or what we’ve got.”
Fans pointed out that Alloa’s standing in the loan market should be particular high owing to the success of the loan players last season.
Bobby Wales, Taylor Steven and Ethan Sutherland all arrived on loan from Kilmarnock, St Johnstone and St Mirren respectively.
The three youngsters performed exceptionally well and have since gone on to take the next step in their careers – Wales scoring in European ties, Steven on loan to Cliftonville in Northern Ireland and Sutherland signing for Wolves in England.
Graham added: “It’s about getting better and it’s great we have these relationships with these bigger clubs and hopefully that will pay dividends not just now, but in the future.”
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