Temporary Solutions

I'm not at all surprised to hear Dean Saunders is looking into the loan market. We might be doing fairly well at the moment, but we've managed to paper over the cracks in the squad. There are gaps in the playing staff Saunders has put together that could cost us very dear

Look at it this way. If you ask Saunders who his first choice right back is, I think he’d say Chris Blackburn. Furthermore, I think if you asked him who his first choice defensive midfielder is it’d be Blackburn again. Trouble is, as Saunders has admitted, Blackburn’s needed as cover for the centre of his defence.

He only has two other options at centre back, Marvin Andrews and Frank Sinclair. Let’s be honest, neither of them are in the first flush of youth, and both are prone to injury. Therefore, Blackburn will have to spend some of his time filling in for one of them, and Saunders will be deprived of his services in one of the positions where he’d like to play him.

Of course, he could fall back on Christian Smith to cover at centre back, but he has very little experience in that position in first team football; you suspect that would be very much a last resort.

So Saunders has to delve into the loan market. There is another possible solution, mind, although it doesn't seem to be one that Saunders is particularly keen on. Sadly, Kai Edwards isn’t seen as an option.