Town boss Joe Royle is still waiting on his targeted loan players, having identified the men he feels would add something to his squad. Royle has been after new loanees for some weeks now but as yet the players he has been after have either been unavailable or unwilling to make a move out of the Premiership.

Royle said: “When the season's over I'll tell you some of the problems we've had getting people on loan, it's quite comical, but there's nothing new at the moment.

“I've identified the people I want to bring in and it's more a matter of waiting for them to become available, if they are at all.

“There's no point in bringing someone in who is going to be ineffective or just a squad player. Last time we used the loan system it worked for us. All three loan players made an impact. Two have stayed here and continued to make an impact to the point that we're still in the top six.”

Reports in Manchester linked Gerard Wiekens with the Blues yesterday but Royle says the story was news to him: “Let's get this season out of the way first. I've not even thought about the summer yet and I haven't spoken to Manchester City in a while now.

“I'm not even looking at it yet. A lot would depend on what division we were in. It's too early to start.”

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