Clark Speaks About Loan Market.

Birmingham City manager Lee Clark admits the loan market has been an invaluable asset to him this season, but in an ideal world he would like to have players that the club actually owns.

The manager agrees that the temporary deals have been great for the club, especially with how bad things have been financially, but the sooner the club can bring back signing players on a permanent basis, the better it will be for all concerned with the club.

Clark told reporters: ‘It’s a tough one. I don’t want to rely on loans, I want to have my own players. I would love to do what Burnley have done and just have 16, 17 contracted senior first-team players so every day you are working with the same group.’

‘If we could have our own players, you are not looking over your shoulder for when they are going back to their clubs, if they are your players, that doesn’t happen. That is something we need to address when we move forward.’

Birmingham have been a perfect example of how clubs can manage to get through a season without a pot to piss in, since Clark arrived at the club in 2012, he has taken 21 players on loan, many have been successful, but the club are still in trouble when it comes to league placings.

Clark pointed out that a lot of the success stories have ended with the parent club either recalling the player back home or refusing to extend any loan, prefering to have the born again player in their own squad.

Clark added: ‘The problem I have got is that as soon as they start playing well, their clubs see that and bring them back either for their own use, or to move them to the next level. ‘So I cannot win. I have got to keep changing the loans.’