Sheffield United's Jim Phipps backing Nigel Adkins to streamline Blades' squad

The Blades were the only club in Yorkshire not to make at least one addition during January, much to the disappointment of supporters.

Instead, a pruning of the squad - admittedly, much needed considering its bloated size at the start of the season - took place as a host of fringe players were allowed to leave.

Phipps, on the United board since September 2013, said: “By my reckoning - and counting January transfer window 2016 - it will take at least three transfer windows to complete the work of addressing past recruiting errors and excesses.

“The key to getting this right going forward is the work we are doing now to reclaim, to strengthen and to implement the club-owned recruiting process and procedures.

“The resolve shown during the January transfer window in not making panic or cosmetic acquisitions is an early victory in this process.

“More progress in this front should begin to evidence itself in the close season and transfer windows, thereafter.”

Many of the current squad were brought to the club by former manager Nigel Clough, albeit under the current hierarchy.

Following Clough’s departure, Nigel Adkins was able to sign Billy Sharp from Leeds United and Millwall’s Martyn Woolford on permanent deals.

The rest, though, were loans, an approach that had been in stark contrast to the 2014-15 campaign when January saw big fees paid for both John Brayford and Matty Done.

Those signings are understood to have been made possible by United’s run to the money-spinning runs to the semi-finals of the FA Cup in 2013-14 and the League Cup the following season.

Explaining the club’s approach during a window in which it is understood Fulham’s Dan Burn was a major target for Adkins, Phipps added: “Having a squad that is too big is unhealthy. We have begun the process of right-sizing the squad. More work on this front will have to wait until the close season, when contracts expire.

“We have not brought in new players, apart from extending loans to the end of the season. It might have been tempting in the final hours to do something just for the sake of being seen to do something.

“The better choice, however, was to avoid both panic buying and purchasing for cosmetic reasons.”