Brian McDermott says he tried to sign one more player on transfer deadline day, and as the season progresses he has the means to act in the transfer market if he sees fit.
The departure of Gylfi Sigurdsson gave Brian the financial ability to make moves for Ian Harte and Zurab Khizanishvili, and while the boss is not awash with funds, he certainly has greater options available to him.
Brian made a move to bring in a further unnamed player on deadline day, and although it did not come to pass he was still very pleased to add two new players and give the defence a necessary boost. He has also added ex-England man Lee Hendrie to his list of possibilities as the midfielder is currently training with us.
Brian said, "The deal that we've done for Gylfi has made such a difference - now I can bring Ian Harte in, bring Zurab Khizanishvili in and take a look at Lee Hendrie. We're not flush with money, but we have opportunities now.
"We can do emergency loans after next Wednesday, and if we feel there's an area we need to strengthen, we can.
"We've strengthened the squad and we missed out on someone else we tried to get. We were close but we couldn't do it. I won't say who it was but I will say we know all the players, we know who's available.
"I won't just bring a player in just out of haste. You get that initial feeling of 'oh yeah great,' and then you think 'well actually it's not better than what we've got.'
"I don't care about names, one thing I do know is who is available. We're still in the frame and if something comes our way we can do it.
"Now, I'm talking about things we can try to do - before [Gylfi left] I was just talking about things I couldn't do. The reason for that is Gylfi, he's given me this opportunity, one we didn't have before. We've got to be very, very grateful.
"I'm hopeful the fans will see that and say 'that's a positive, the club is in a far better position than this time last week.'
"Since May we've had phone calls, speculation - I'm now so glad it's ended and we can move on to the real stuff which is winning football matches."
Bringing in Harte and Khizanishvili adds a wealth of experience to the back line, which was down to the very bare bones in terms of numbers last weekend as injuries really began to take their toll.
Brian said, "We needed them, we wanted to make additions there. We were struggling for numbers in that area and we've brought in a massive number of games between these two. To bring that experience in is fantastic, they're both top guys and the squad looks healthier now.
"Ian has a great left foot, he's played in the World Cup, Champions League, he's done it all but he's still very hungry. He wants to get back into the Premier League, he feels he's got something to prove. Zurab was desperate to come back here, he loves the fans and loves the place. He also brought me two bottles of wine from Georgia so that made me pretty happy as well!"
"With these new boys, and a few back from injury, it looks a stronger squad in numbers. We're obviously missing a fantastic player but that's the test for me and the players now - that we prove that we can work together and get the right results."
Hendrie's experience is also an attractive proposition, and Brian said, "We're having a look at Lee, he's very fit and hungry. I hope it goes well, I've got a good feeling.
"He's the type of player that has to be in the thick of it, in amongst it in the middle of the park and he's really got talent. I've seen him play wide but his best position is right in there between the lines, off the striker.
"He was at Brighton last season, they tried to sign him but to be fair to him he felt he could still play in the Championship, no problem. If you put him in the right environment it could be interesting for us."
Sigurdsson's departure to Hoffenheim represented a record deal for the club, and Brian was understandably sad to lose his player of the season. But, he knows that the pull of this offer was far, far too good to turn down - both for the club and for Gylfi himself. With our £12million parachute payments having ended, this was 100% the right deal for the club and player.
He said, "In an ideal world you don't want to lose Gylfi, of course, but this is the world we live in. What Gylfi has done is stabilise this football club and all we can do is thank him for that. It's a record deal, a massive amount of money.
"People kid themselves, if anyone thinks the Chairman is happy because Gylfi has gone, it's wrong. He knows what a top player and a top person he was, he knows in an ideal world we'd have kept him - but that's the economics, the bottom line. This takes that type of pressure off.
"Gylfi wanted the challenge. He shed a few tears, no doubt, and when I spoke to him it was very emotional. I think the world of him, it was difficult for him to say goodbye. But I'm so proud of him for what he's achieved and what he will go on to achieve.
"There's no way, especially in our situation, that we could stand in his way. How could you stop a young player like that from playing at Bayern Munich; Schalke - you can't, it wouldn't be right and I know our fans will recognise that. He's a class act, one day he will come back to salute the fans, that's what he wants to do.
"His contract will be phenomenal, I'm sure, this is an opportunity for him financially and personally.
"I just can't believe a big Premier League side didn't take him. There was a lot of talk but nothing came of it and it's a sin that he's lost to this country. The Bundesliga's gain is the Premier League's loss.
"For me, without a doubt, he should be in the Premier League. I'm amazed by that but he's gone to a big, big club and they are absolutely delighted to get him. After his initial feeling of leaving everyone behind, this is just a great chance for him."
The deal for Sigurdsson also meant Brian could fend off interest in any other players, saying, "There's always going to be interest in players but we never got a phonecall to say 'here's an offer.' When the Sigurdsson deal was activated, we would have turned it down. We didn't need it - and that's got to be good news.
"I'm not going to say to people 'I'm going to get Gylfi Sigurdsson's replacement' because he is a special talent. But, we've got a lot of good players, we've also got a great spirit as we saw at Leicester at the weekend, everyone fighting for each other. We've got a lot of good things going on here, a lot of good things."
