McCarthy Wants to Keep Squad Together
Saturday, 22nd Dec 2012 06:01

Blues boss Mick McCarthy says that ideally he’d like to keep his current squad together if he can with five players' loan deals coming to an end in the weeks to come and Nigel Reo-Coker’s short-term deal also up.

McCarthy said: “The way we are at the moment with the players is that I like the ones that I’ve got and I certainly wouldn’t be dissatisfied to keep them all. But it’s not down to me, I can’t do anything about that.”

He says that as things stand there have been no developments on either the loanees or any other incoming January deals: “Not really, no. They’re still up in the air.

"Everybody would like an answer, you’d like me to say ‘Yes’, I’d like to be able to say ‘That’s done, that’s done, that’s done’, but it’s not going to happen that way unfortunately.”

McCarthy is still to speak to QPR manager Harry Redknapp regarding DJ Campbell’s situation: “I did see Harry say on the TV last week that with the goals he’s scored it might be handy to have him around the place, but I’d expect him to say that anyway. But he can’t [have him around the place] until January 6th when his loan is up.

“I’ve not yet had the discussion with him. And then there’s all the other things, he’s been scoring goals, so somebody else might be in for DJ.

“I don’t know what the next deal will be, I haven’t got a clue really. We need to get to the bottom of that, but I would have thought we’ve got to be starting discussions pretty damn soon. It’s a question of watch this space with all of them.”

Danny Higginbotham’s loan from Stoke is up on December 29th - his 34th birthday - and whatever happens McCarthy doesn’t expect to have the central defender available for the Brighton and Hove Albion game on New Year’s Day, which would leave him with only two experienced centre-halves.

The Blues boss says there would be no time to get the paperwork done and dusted: “The window opens on the 1st and as to whether we could take him on any sort of loan deal prior to the game, I don’t know.

“I’ll have to check that, I’m not 100% certain but if the loan ends on the 29th and the window opens on the 1st, I doubt they’ll be in at midnight looking for me to get that loan deal done. I don’t think it’ll get done.”

Bilel Mohsni's spell from Southend is up at the same time as Higginbotham's, while Stephen Henderson's loan from West Ham ends on January 13th and Bradley Orr is currently due to return to Blackburn on January 26th. Reo-Coker's short-term spell is up on January 12th.

Meanwhile, away from football, McCarthy thoroughly enjoyed last Sunday’s Sports Personality of the Year where he was spotted in the audience on a number of occasions due to his proximity to one of the nominees: “It was fabulous. I’ve been to the last dozen or so, I think.

“It was lovely this year with all the Olympians who were there. I was sat behind Ellie Simmonds, the Paralympic swimmer, she was fantastic. It was great. Just as well I took my wife and not my girlfriend!”

Photo: Action Images

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