Bowyer keen to add

Rovers manager Gary Bowyer has confirmed that he and his team are working hard to bring in new faces, with deals for both Barry Bannan and Yann Songo’o being worked on.

Rovers were soundly beaten in their final; pre-season friendly at home to Everton, with the home side sound in work but pretty bereft heading forward.

That has added to calls for increased strength in the squad, with the gaffer stating that was already at the forefront of his mind, prior to the game at the weekend.

Bowyer told the Lancashire Telegraph – “In an ideal world I`d love to get in three or four new faces, I really would.

“It`s constantly ongoing and will be until the end of the transfer window.

“We`re looking to bring in people wherever we can to make our squad better.

“You look at the quality Everton showed and we`ve got to get some of that in our squad.”

But with the dreaded Financial Fair Play looming in the not too distant future, the club (like all the others) is feeling the pinch to find fair value in an overpaying market.

“The only sense I can make of it (FFP) is we have to reduce the wage bill, that`s putting it in simple terms,” Bowyer continued.

“It does complicate everybody`s life but it`s a rule that`s been introduced and we`ve got to adhere to it and get over it.

“It is hitting everybody.”

And of course to add to the difficulty level, the club has to be wary with late bids for their own players (Jordan Rhodes being the main concern), with the transfer window dragging on for almost a month past the start of the season.

Bowyer continued – “I don`t think I`m any different to any other manager, we`re all concerned that a bid could come in at the last minute.’

“I wouldn`t be surprised if people came in for our players because we`ve got some good players, but our battle is to hold on to them and convince them that what we`re doing here is the right thing.

“It`s crazy that you do all your preparation and you can get to the start of the season and lose some of your players.

“It`s a daft rule for every manager. It needs readdressing because how can we prepare as well as we do and then the window`s still open and someone can nick your players?”

Let the struggle continue…