Fleetwood Town's balancing act for the January transfer window

There is a fine balance to be had for the club, who want to strengthen and give themselves the best chance for promotion.

However, they must do so responsibly and sustainably.

This is one of the priorities for the Cod Army owner and he admits there may need to be exits if there are arrivals moving forward at Highbury.

Pilley told The Gazette on Wednesday: “We’re at a stage now whereby we have a meeting scheduled in the next 24 hours.

“We’re going to have a look at what’s actually out there, what we’ve got and what we haven’t got. It’s very, very tough.

“We have to, first and foremost, make sure everyone is getting paid and that we’re paying the bills.

“Equally, we want to make sure we’ve got a hell of a squad in place.

“If we need an extra body, then we’ll do all we can to bring that extra body in.

“As things stand that remains to be seen.

“With where we’re at, I think we are likely to need to trim the squad to get anybody in.

“It’s well documented that we’re in difficult financial times. We need to make sure we succeed on the pitch but we also need to make sure we pay all the bills.

“It’s incredibly tough right now. We need to monitor that situation moving forwards.

“We will support Simon (interim manager Wiles) all we can but these are incredibly tough times we are currently in.”

Pilley knows Town are not alone in their situation, with the pandemic having a severe effect on all clubs, with running costs exceeding turnover at many.

The 50-year-old can also envisage some teams throwing caution to the wind while the competition is trying to recover, going all out to try to seal their place in the Championship with the financial windfall that can bring.

Pilley said: “A lot of clubs are likely to look at selling players in order to balance the books. That’s my personal opinion.

“However, all clubs vary. Many clubs are owned by incredibly wealthy people and they may see this as an opportunity to roll the dice and to climb the division.

“I think the salary caps are really good news because they help football to become sustainable, and moving forwards we really want football to be sustainable.

“We want to be talking about what’s going on on the pitch rather than what’s going on with the administrators.

The lack of a permanent manager at Highbury at present could raise questions over the transfer policy of Fleetwood.

But Pilley was quick to clear that up, pointing out that any incomings this month would have the seal of approval from 35-year-old former academy boss Wiles.

As Pilley also clarified, the job is Wiles’ for the taking should he impress in his period in charge.

And the club are showing their support by giving him a say in transfers.

“With any players that we bring in, Simon Wiles as the interim manager will have a huge say in whether he thinks that player will make us better,” Pilley said.

“We would never sign a player without consulting the manager.

“I think it has to be a team effort, on and off the pitch.

“If Simon needs to be on the grass and he needs to be coaching the players, then perhaps someone else can be making the phone calls and seeing who is available and who isn’t.”

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