Town boss Mick McCarthy says he wasn’t going to sign players who were no better than those already in his squad during the January transfer window.

While other clubs in the promotion hunt spent money to add to their squad - most notably Middlesbrough who signed former Blue Jordan Rhodes for £9 million - sixth-placed Town were quiet in the transfer market, leading to criticism from some sections of the support.

“I haven’t got the cash to splash in the transfer market, let’s clear that up!” McCarthy said when quizzed on the Blues’ lack of business, the only January additions having been free agent Kevin Foley, a like-for-like replacement for the departing Jonny Parr, and Paul Digby, signed on loan from Barnsley with a view to the future.

“I think I’ve told you, I can’t do better than the 11 I’ve got on the pitch without spending a lot of money. And I haven’t got a lot of money to spend.

“I’m not in the market for going out and getting mediocrity just for the sake of it or [signing] somebody else just for the sake of it. They’re going to have to come in and be better than what I’ve got.”

He says in the current market it’s perfectly possible to pay out a fee of £1 million or so for a mediocre player.

“It could end up getting me somebody that’s not as good as I’ve got in the team so I just don’t see the point in doing it,” he added. “If there are millions there I don’t see the point in doing that.”

However, Town weren’t entirely inactive during the window with McCarthy reiterating that enquiries were made for some younger players, having previously said that they were “non-starters really in terms of the money”.

He added: “We did actually bid for some of the younger ones that I thought would eventually make us better or strengthen the squad, but that didn’t work out for whatever reason.”

Meanwhile, former Blues midfielder Byron Lawrence, 19, has joined Vanarama National South Bishop’s Stortford, having recently left Colchester United.

Photo: Action Images

paulcooperisgod added 10:22 - Feb 6 Yawn. Change the record MM simple truth is no ambition ME happy to stay in championship
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Witchesaswell added 10:22 - Feb 6 In his statement MM says he's not in the market to sign mediocrity. Unfortunately with the vast majority of the squad ( with some notable exceptions ) that's exactly what he's got. As the expression goes, you have to speculate to accumulate. We may currently be in the playoffs but we've been shown up by some of the better teams who are proactive in the transfer market a number of times this season. With the current ownership and management regime I just don't see us progressing whatsoever for the foreseeable future, much as it pains me to say it!

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Bluejake added 10:26 - Feb 6 You've said it in a word Brittaniaman, Hindsight. I'm sure if we'd known in advance that McGoldrick would be injured again and Murphy would revert to being an average striker, we'd have taken the £12M but we didn't know that at the time.
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oldbri added 10:29 - Feb 6 All this talk about spend a couple of million here and get this bloke in for a couple of million more is making my head spin. Where is this magic money tree , that ITFC has because my Mrs wants to sit under it for a while . I keep telling her , keep to the budget , but she will not listen. Keep up the good work MM.
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BanksterDebtSlave added 10:32 - Feb 6 Brittaniaman......without the powers of hindsight I can guarantee that would have resulted in a record, even by TWTD's standards, moans and groans comments level!
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Mullet added 10:33 - Feb 6 I do enjoy it when people speak for "the fans" on here as if we are all one and they are at the forefront. What's to be confused about? What's this darkness we are being kept in? We were nearly bankrupt, we nearly went down, ME nearly spent his way into oblivion and got us nowhere. Now we have our cash sorted, our club on the up and the best manager in the league. The price of being in the race, is what we pay right now. Would you rather be 15th going nowhere lurching from one Paul Taylor to the next? Pull your pants up lads FFS.

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karls_dad added 10:34 - Feb 6 My point as always...if the second string players are not good enough? ie the Portsmouth game, they were totally outclassed by a team from two divisions below us! The question has to be asked, what the hell are we paying them for? if they cannot drop into the first team ie an injury/suspension and do a proper job, which they obviously can,t, get rid soon as!! Bewildered does not cover it?

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ITFCGloryDays added 11:31 - Feb 6 Of reiterating my initial point, I completely agree with bluey123. And of that, of the club in a 'signing standing-still' sense, MM and TC are sitting pretty having signed an extension to their current deals.
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RaymondovicBlue added 11:35 - Feb 6 Is it just me? I think we have a better squad than last year.... Last year or typical sub was tabby for Ando!!! No depth to change systems like we can now. I thought our second eleven looked much better than last year.... When in truth we couldn't even fieled a second eleven, nor the full list of subs??? The problem was that they didn't feel as a team at all. Mick now often mentions his "first eleven" as if the squad players are irrelevant... Do they get coached (as a team) ?? Couple of points.... If Didz could have been on Leicester's sick bay them Mings could have been on ours!! We can all have opinions on here and I like to read all sides of debate..... But we have to be balanced! I agree with those who say that Mick has funds..... But not enough to make the story of signings that we are screaming for.... He uses the "reinvestment in the squad" on wages so cannot also use it for fees Maybe it is just me Maybe I'm wrong??

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TrueBlue1983 added 11:41 - Feb 6 I do agree with some of the things he has said and i do understand we are still in a financial predicament and can't afford to compete with the likes of Middlesbrough but i suppose it makes us all look with envy as teams above and around us are purchasing players to attempt to gain promotion and lets be honest, i think all of these players would probably get in our team. MM has done a fantastic job with having little money available to spend and with the club in debt, i dont see that changing anytime soon. I just think with a reasonably small squad, a few average players could perhaps help us cement a top 6 place!! We are never going to attract the big names but there has been a few bargains that would surely improve the bench, which would in turn push the current first team. It seems to me certain players are untouchable and play week in week out because we have no competition which we need badly. I hope we make the play offs but if we don't, I can't see where we go from here!! Keep up the good work MM and maybe have a look at the people above for answers.

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cromwellblue added 11:59 - Feb 6 Supporters like the media have it easy. You can say what you like and never get held to account. MM is right, the value in the transfer market is poor right now and it would be easy to squander a few million on nothing. It's not long ago this forum was begging for the club to sign a certain Michael Chopra, that didn't work out too well did it. I don't recall any posters on here apologising for getting it wrong. We are in a far better position with MM than before. True, it may not always be pretty but would you prefer to be MK Dons, or Bolton?

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Crawfordsboot added 12:16 - Feb 6 Come on guys get real! There is far too much ill informed and ill considered criticism of the club here. Very few teams can splash the cash. Take a look at the January transfers see http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/transfers for a full list. Yes one or two, notably Middlesborough, paid fees but the vast majority are frees for journeymen pros. Having kept Didzy, Murphy etc I can only think we must be paying decent wages. In the vast majority of clubs outside the premiership the budget is best spent on decent wages to secure a good team rather than just one or two expensive buys. MM is working to a budget but also to a philosophy more likely to build a team rather than a group of players and one expensive fop. I remember Finidi George!

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RRanger added 12:28 - Feb 6 All this chat about how poor the squad reserves are (the 2 Portsmouth games) is surely missing the point about what a squad is. Its to replace the occasional first choice who has a serious loss of form or an injury, NOT to pick virtually a whole team of reserves (as we did in the Cup matches) and expect them to play as well as MM's 1st team. Fraser's injury proved to me that the squad is reasonably strong. He was out for a length of time but it didn't significantly affect our league position...yes,we dropped down a few places but kept very much in touch so that now we are back in a playoff position.

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TimmyH added 12:35 - Feb 6 Mick says and I quote " I'm not in the market for getting mediocrity just for the sake of it, they're going to have to come in and be better than what I've got" - well that's further proof Mick is being more and more reliant on basically around 11/12/13 players. As mentioned by other posters there has been better players at least for loan until the end of the season available and we need further additions close to our starting 11 in ability so there is competition for starting. Anyway the word mediocrity is certainly what you would describe Coke, Toure, Malarczyk, Douglas etc. all signed in the summer by yourself Mick.

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Surco72 added 12:37 - Feb 6 Think you could easily get a better player than some in our match day squad for £ 1 million or a quality loan on high wages to do a job for half the season . If a player of Austins ability is worth £4 million ?
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Seasider added 13:30 - Feb 6 Just as it is possible to pay out a million and get a mediocre player,you could also get a good one,if you have a decent scouting system;especially from Europe. Mick seems to be set on keeping the present first team regulars playing every week,and during recent interviews it didn't appear that he was interested in improving the squad during the transfer window,as the players he tried for and failed were just back up. However we don't really know (a) how much he has to spend,and(b)who he tried for. Mr Milne has always given the impression that Marcus is flexible,whereas Mick infers the opposite ie I have a fixed budget which I cannot and will not exceed. I don't suppose we will ever know the true position;but it is clear to me that if you can pick up a gem like Freddie Sears for £100k in the last Jan window,then the club should be able to pick up a player who is just as good or even better paying ten times that amount. After all Mick has picked up several mediocre players for nothing!!! Lets hope he will relent and get a marquee signing in the transfer window next week,regardless of the result today;as even though he may get Didsy and the Bish back before the end of the season;we could also lose one or two.

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Keaneish added 13:54 - Feb 6 I'm happy we haven't spent any cash on fees. I'm unhappy we haven't strengthened with at least one quality loan signing when others around us with no cash did exactly this. Windy today. Let's count how many times Tommy tries to hit Murphy's head in these conditions...
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jas0999 added 14:10 - Feb 6 Yes, I agree with the principle, MM probably couldn't have signed any better with the BUDGET he has. Essentially nothing or small wages for sub standard players like Coke and Toure. Mick I'm sure would have signed some additional players if Evans had have freed up the necessary funds. We needed to add that quality in my opinion as our squad is weaker after the window. I believe that Evans lacks ambition. Will be interesting to see if he has the nerve to increase ticket prices, despite offering very little in terms of improving the product I.e. The quality of the squad. Will people pay more to watch less quality? In regards to the debt, people forget that Evans bought it for a fraction of it's value, but still insists on the club paying back the full amount. He also offsets the debt / losses against some of his other business, a move which works well for him.

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jas0999 added 14:13 - Feb 6 Yes, I agree with the principle, MM probably couldn't have signed any better with the BUDGET he has. Essentially nothing or small wages for sub standard players like Coke and Toure. Mick I'm sure would have signed some additional players if Evans had have freed up the necessary funds. We needed to add that quality in my opinion as our squad is weaker after the window. I believe that Evans lacks ambition. Will be interesting to see if he has the nerve to increase ticket prices, despite offering very little in terms of improving the product I.e. The quality of the squad. Will people pay more to watch less quality? In regards to the debt, people forget that Evans bought it for a fraction of it's value, but still insists on the club paying back the full amount. He also offsets the debt / losses against some of his other business, a move which works well for him.

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dukey44 added 14:35 - Feb 6 Sorry but mm talks dross week n week out. On the fans page today if we score a winner in the 93rd everyone all of a sudden luvs him? Sorry time to move on mick. Its been fairly good but u do talk same old dross wk in and wk out? Then u got nerve to say theres no money.... and the fans are all stupid too? Sorry move on xx
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