Hutch shopping in the bargain bin

No Walsall manager in history has commented on the budget available to him, but CH has let everyone know he has a challenge on his hands.

However, Hutch has been speaking to the press as to how difficult the task will be to bring in players to replace the likes of Michael Ricketts and Jabo Ibehre.

During his tenure with Bradford City, he signed players like David Hopkin for £2.5m in 2000, as well as splashing out £5.3m to bring in Jason Koumas while at Wigan in 2007.

So, a big spender then, but now the outset is different for a manager who has a shoe-string budget to put it politly and a unwanted task of putting together a team for the forthcoming season.

Speaking to the Express and Star, Hutch said: “Being at Wigan and Bradford in the Premier League and now here is a little bit like chalk and cheese, but we are where we are and we`ve got to deal with it.

“You always relish the challenge. At the other clubs we were looking at international players the majority of the time and they command big league wages.

“It is different to what we`ve got now, but we want the best for the club.”

For a club who has the ambition to get back into the Championship, it really isn’t good enough.

Many fans that I have spoken to personally have voiced their displeasure at the lack of funds donated to the wage structure of the club.

Let’s be realistic, can we successfully beat the like of Leeds, Norwich, Charlton, and Southampton (when they get new owners) to bring the best players to the Bescot? No.

Having said that, what did we do in 1998/99? The key will be loan signings, as by May 1999, we finished above Man City and Stoke.

History can repeat itself.