Bradford City boss Graham Alexander's admission ahead of 'volatile' January transfer window - and why things could quickly change
BRADFORD City manager Graham Alexander is keeping open-minded about the Bantams' business in the winter window - having held preliminary discussions with the club's recruitment 'panel' earlier this week.
Alexander met with chief executive officer Ryan Sparks, head of football operations David Sharpe and head of recruitment Stephen Gent to discuss transfer strategy in January, ahead of plotting a line of attack in a window which is 'volatile' in the words of the City chief.
The City chief admitted that the condition of several players who are currently out of action could well have a bearing on the club's business.
Alexander, whose side visit Colchester United in League Two on Saturday, said: "It’s a little bit more volatile in the January window.
“Players are coming towards the end of their contracts which heightens that feeling.
"Clubs are all in a neutral position in the summer. Everyone is joint top of the league, so to speak.
"By January, it’s all different. Some are ahead of schedule, others are below.
"You have to communicate and have ideas, but be ready to act upon anything that might come up.
"You really don’t know what might happen. But as I’ve always said, the target with any window is coming out of it in a better shape.
"Sometimes you don’t know what that will look like until you assess what you’ve done.”
The latest meeting constituted a broad canvassing of opinions regarding potential areas of recruitment, with actual planning likely to get finalised as the window gets closer next month.
Alexander added: "It was just a preliminary one to assess where we are right now and what we potentially might need to do to strengthen in January.
"It wasn’t about details of individuals, but where we felt we needed strengthening. That will be put back for a couple of weeks now until we gather a bit more information.
"Between now and January, we’ll probably have five or six meetings. There are also a lot of conversations between individuals on the phone.
"It’s continually always there, but we’re still in mid-November. We have to assess the players we’ve had missing.
"Are they going to be in a fit-enough state to consistently play for us or is this going to be a continual problem for us?
"We can only probably answer that closer to January."