Dundee United manager Craig Levein has expressed his unease at making last minute signings in January, and is already planning his summer transfer activity.
Dundee United manager Craig Levein has expressed his unease at making last minute signings in January, and is already planning his summer transfer activity.
Levein’s European ambitions were dealt a blow when key midfielder Willo Flood moved to Celtic just before the transfer window closed. Despite signing two players on loan, he told Setanta Sports' Press Box that January purchases are always risky.
"I think there’s too short a period to do your homework properly about players," he said. "Managers tend to rush in to try to do something, but they don’t have enough time to research the players."
The Arabs boss insists he has begun planning for next season and has already identified the players he wants in the summer. Levein pointed out that pre-season signings allow far greater time to scout players, allowing him to make better decisions.
“The loan signings that I’ve made in the past have had a lot of work put into them,” he said.
“For example, I’m looking for three players for next season, and I’ve already made enquiries for those players and I have a list of players for each position.
“Between now and the summer, I will have time to watch and research these players, which makes it far easier.
“You lose a player like we lost Willo, and I can’t get a player in that I’ve researched enough, so then I have to take a bit of a gamble.
“I know Paul Caddis is a fantastic player, as is Wesolowski but he’s had injury trouble. So it‘s impossible to know for sure whether things will work out.”