More money needed for transfers says Wellens

SWINDON TOWN manager Richie Wellens has stated that the club will need to spend more money than originally expected in the January transfer window as Swindon attempt to earn promotion to League One this season. Total Sport Swindon’s Ryan Walker spoke to Wellens following Swindon’s 1-1 draw with Bradford City at the weekend.

A cacophony of injuries this season forced Swindon Town into playing midfielder Anthony Grant in central defence during the weekend’s match against Bradford, with Zeki Fryers being added to the injury list after being brought off for an undisclosed injury problem during the first-half. 

However with the January transfer window now open, Wellens has targeted reinforcements at the heart of defence but insisted that additional funds are needed to make moves happen and get contracts signed.

“Do we want to go up this season?” said Wellens. 

“Then I would say we definitely need a centre-half, maybe two, an attacking midfielder that will offer goals from midfield, and definitely a striker and maybe a winger as well. 

“Our defence is bare bones at the moment,” he said. 

“It’s not just that, it has a knock-on effect as well. 

“We had to move Anthony Grant to centre-half so these defensive injuries are affecting two areas of the team.

“It’s tough, but we’re still top of the league and in a good position,” added Wellens. 

“The injury list has been horrendous for us. I’m gutted because we’ve played Bradford twice now and had to play with barely any centre-backs. 

“We’ve got to January now and need to strengthen,” he said. 

An injury list currently containing the names of Swindon’s three regular centre-backs means Wellens’ main priority this month will be adding new bodies to his backline. 

But the STFC manager remained coy on targeting under-23 players and insisted that proven defenders will be the main focus. 

“It’s all about value for money,” said Wellens.

“I’m not sure with going for under-23s centre-backs because these academy coaches now don’t coach the players to head the ball, they don’t coach them to deal with diagonal balls or to bring the ball out from defence.

“We need someone who can head it, defend, and also fit into our system,” he added.

“Zakuani was good at these things but he didn’t really suit our style of play. 

“We would like to sign someone who has been in that situation,” said Wellens. 

“We’ve released funds from Sanokho and Zakuani so there’s a little bit there.

“We’re going to have to invest a little bit more than expected because we didn’t anticipate Dion Conroy being out for the season or Keshi Anderson being injured who is now out for 6-8 weeks. 

“We’re going to need to spend more than what the Chairman planned,” he said. 

Swindon Town are next in action on Saturday as they host Crewe Alexandra at the County Ground.