Middlesbrough boss Gordon Strachan admits he is finding it hard to assemble his squad over the summer.
Boro searching for fresh faces ahead of new campaign
Middlesbrough manager Gordon Strachan admits he is finding it difficult to assemble the squad he desires during the close season.
Strachan insists he has been busy working behind the scenes in an attempt to bolster his ranks at the Riverside.
The Teesside outfit will be eyeing a promotion challenge this season after a mid-table finish last time out and the former Celtic boss has been trying to assemble a squad capable of a push to the Premier League.
But the transfer rumblings out of the North East have been quiet so far, with a combination of the World Cup and player holidays stifling any significant recruitment drive.
And the lack of activity has left the Boro chief with the frustration of not being able to close out deals.
Strachan told the
Evening Gazette: "We want to get in as many new players as we can as quickly as possible.
Money pit
"I'd love to have all my new signings in for the first day of pre-season training but I've been in football management long enough now to know that never happens.
"There's a lot of work going on to bring players in, that's for sure. We know who we want - it's getting them that's the problem."
Strachan has only been able to bring in one new face since the end of the campaign in the form of Livingston winger Andy Halliday.
The 53-year-old says he has plenty of targets in mind, however financing moves is proving just as tricky as putting pen-to-paper on deals.
He added: "Middlesbrough is no longer the money pit it used to be.
"But the chairman is supportive of what we want to do and there are players keen to come."
