Cats boss won’t sell his best players
Jan 16 2009 by Mark Douglas, The Journal
SUNDERLAND boss Ricky Sbragia has revealed that the club have made bids for two players this week, as he continues to insist Kenwyne Jones is not for sale “at any price”.
The Black Cats are understood to have tabled bids for a pair of Premier League defenders but Sbragia is refusing to follow the lead of other top-flight managers by naming or even hinting at his targets.
He has accused Hull manager Phil Brown of attempting to unsettle Dean Whitehead by publicly revealing his interest in the Sunderland skipper and is also unhappy at Tottenham for the way their bid for Jones was leaked.
It is not a route that Sbragia will be following, although he is happy to quash some of the wilder rumours that have surfaced so far this month.
He has denied any interest in Wigan defender Paul Scharner or Glasgow Rangers’ Scotland full-back Kirk Broadfoot, both linked with a move to Wearside this week, but The Journal understands he does retain an interest in West Ham’s Calum Davenport.
He moved to bring Paul McShane back from his loan spell at Hull City earlier this week to add options in defence, but that won’t affect his determination to bring in new players.
“Recalling Paul doesn’t change anything – our search for new players is still ongoing,” he said. We’ve just got to be patient and wait for something to happen. We now know that we’ve got Paul got back so it safeguards us a little bit in defence.
“We’ve made a couple of enquiries and it’s an ongoing thing. It’s just about waiting to hear back from people now to see whether we can get the go ahead.
“I’m not sure how many days there are left in the transfer window but I think our search for new players will go right down to the wire.” While Sbragia continues to look for reinforcements, he remains adamant that none of the 20 “untouchables” in his squad will be sold.
That group includes striker Jones, who has attracted interest from Aston Villa and a ‘light enquiry’ from Tottenham which was rebuffed. “Kenwyne won’t be sold, simple. There has been a light enquiry from Tottenham so far. I don’t know how far it is going to go with him but he won’t be sold. If anyone asks about him the answer is a ‘no’,” he said.
“I speak to (chairman) Niall (Quinn) every day and he said to them it’s a no-go. He made it clear that they are wasting their time.
“There are many times we say it but he is an important member of the team. He is hitting form, scoring goals and Sunderland need him here.” Sbragia has also told Brown to forget any interest in skipper Whitehead – and reiterated his stance he would be better off resigning than selling any of his first-team players.
“We have good players and we have had lot of interest and the answer’s always been no. I can’t see the point in selling to a club in the same position as us,” he said.
“As far as I’m concerned there’s no price. I need all the players. If I’m going to sell my best players I’d be better walking. I came into the job to keep Sunderland up and if there’s one thing I won’t do it will be to sell my best players.”
