Michael O’Neill has admitted that Stoke City will not have a big transfer budget for news arrivals this summer.
The Potters ended last season 14th in the Championship, 13 points adrift of the top six places, with a disappointing second half of the campaign seeing O’Neill’s side drop off in the race for a play-off position.
However, the former Northern Ireland manager has been tempering expectations going into the upcoming transfer window.
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The 52-year old has admitted that there will be limited funds available to improve the squad.
O’Neill believes that the restructuring of the club has been a positive step.
The likes of Andy Cousins, Chris Laird and Tony Scholes all received new titles, whilst head of recruitment Alex Aldridge departed.
That has the Stoke boss optimistic that the club can operate well in the transfer market despite the financial constraints in place.
“We’re very limited in terms of the market we can operate in because of the financial situation,” said O’Neill, via StokeonTrent Live.
“Andy has put together a really good recruitment team and I think it works well with Andy, the role Chris has, myself and the owners.
“We feel we have got a very transparent model with everyone working in the same vein to try to move the club forward. That’s where we are at.
“We know we’re not going to be out this summer spending a lot of money on wages and fees.
“We’re not going to be in a position to do that but we have to make our money go as far as we can and get the best value for money we can get.”
Stoke have been in the Championship since their 2018 relegation from the top flight.
A disappointing end to the recent campaign saw the team fall out of the top half of the table, but the summer transfer window offers the club opportunities to improve the squad.
The Verdict
Other clubs have shown in recent years that a huge budget isn’t needed to compete for promotion to the Premier League.
Luton Town and Huddersfield Town are a testament to that from this season, so there should still be a belief that a top six finish is possible.
Recruitment is so important at this level, with competition fierce across the division.
But this season could be a make or break one for O’Neill’s future at the Bet365 Stadium, with a good showing likely needed to maintain his position at the club.
