The boss has admitted to awaiting further developments on an offer made last week on unnamed player, but he is adamant that anyone brought in at any stage has to be of the right calibre and not an ‘impulse buy’ as such.
“We’re waiting on an offer we put in on Thursday, we’re waiting to hear about that today. Hopefully, that will go through, if it doesn’t we’ll run with what we’ve got.
“I’ve got confidence in the squad I’ve got. I’ve said it all summer, but we need extra bodies here. I spoke with the chairman on Sunday, and I said to them that if they’re not the right people and I don’t feel like I’ve done enough work on the players I won’t bring them in. Its as simple as that.”
Trawling through the many recommendations on players that come his way is an aspect of the job at Pearce is still getting used to, but even at this early juncture in his managerial career he says that he already knows the criteria he needs before finally signing a player.
“Make no mistake, my phone rings every day with some agent telling me that a very average player is a very good player! If I’ve not done my homework to look at him personally, or got a very high recommendation from someone within our club then I’m not prepared to go and buy players on a whim, just so I can say that I’ve got three or four players.
“Then, all of a sudden, those three or four players are not in the team and the club are paying out wages for no reason whatsoever. I can’t see the point in that. I’d rather sit tight, wait and make sure that players I get in are the right players.”
Pearce is keen to point to his new strike partnership as a perfect example of how new players have been assessed and then successfully integrated into the team.
“With Cole and Vassell, I thought we’d done our homework and those players were the right players. I’m happy with those players, and at the right price as well, so financially it was good business plus we’d done our homework on them. At the time they were spot-on, and I stand by that now.”
Pearce’s meticulous approach to his job is never more evident than when discussing the transfer situation, and it is clear that he will be taking the long-term view whenever he considers whether to bring any player to Manchester City.
“I’ve got to be very comfortable with every player that comes through the door here, because my job hinges on it,” he says. “There’s no point me going out and getting two or three bodies, so I can sit here and say ‘Haven’t I done well?’ I’d rather have a long term view of it and say that if it’s not right now we’ll keep doing our homework and get the right people in.”
