Thursday 26 November 2015 22:10, UK
Neil Lennon says Bolton Wanderers will have no money to spend on transfers unless there is new investment in the club.
Bolton are bottom of the Sky Bet Championship table with one win from 17 games, and face Brentford at the Macron Stadium on Monday night, live on Sky Sports 1 HD.
Lennon has made do with loan signings and free transfers amid financial uncertainty, and speaking to the FL72 Podcast, the manager admitted he will not be able to spend money on new players unless a buyer can be found.
"At the moment, there's no money available at all," Lennon told Sky Sports. "So a lot will depend on who takes over and what funds they have if we are going to buy any players.
"It's tough times, but it's a great challenge for me as a manager and a person. It's a test of the players' character as well, not only because of the things going on away from football, but we're bottom of the league.
"We were in this position last year, but we fought out of it, we've got the experience of doing that. It's going to take a big effort from everyone."
Trevor Birch has been bought in to help find a suitable buyer for the club, and the likes of Dean Holdsworth and Amir Khan have been linked with consortium-led takeover bids.
Lennon is hopeful Birch's arrival will help speed up the takeover process, and the Bolton manager says it has been difficult for the club to adjust to the loss of key members of the playing staff.
"It's a siege mentality now, with everything going on away from the football team with the business side of the club, the players have to really focus on getting results, more so now than ever," Lennon continued.
"We lost a lot of players, for one reason or another. The financial situation being what it was, we couldn't spend a lot of money. We've lost important players, and with a tight squad it's difficult to adjust.
"[I'm] hoping it will accelerate things. I had a chat with Trevor on Tuesday and he gave an insight into what's going on.
"For the stability of the club, yes, we'd like to get new investment in sooner rather than later. It's difficult finding the right people, who have the best interest of the club at heart and the financial capability, not only to buy the club, but to meet the running costs as well."
Watch Bolton take on Brentford live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 7.30pm on Monday.
And don't forget you can listen to this week's FL72 podcast, including the full interview with Neil Lennon, here.
