Lee not to be rushed

Last updated : 01 September 2005 By Neil Andrews
Colin Lee
Lee: Still searching
Despite being on the look-out for a goalkeeper, a centre half and a right back, Millwall somehow managed to end Transfer Deadline day with less players than they started with and failed to sign anyone.

The day started full of promise, with rumours that Southampton's Chris Baird and Leeds United's Jermaine Wright expected to sign for the club in some form before 5pm. However, come the deadline, the only transfer activity involving The Lions saw striker John Sutton leave the club after starting just two games to join St. Mirren.

And although the club are currently at the foot of the Championship with only one point in the bag, manager Colin Lee insists there's no need to panic.

"It's obviously been very, very difficult", Lee told the club's official site. "It's not for the want of trying. Because it was transfer deadline day everyone assumes that deals have to be done very, very quickly.

"It does in terms of signing players from other clubs on a permanent basis, that is the case, but we have a week's break now and once that week has gone by we are still able to bring players in on loan.

"Rather than make panic signings on the day of the window closing, it was better to not do that.

"I think it is wrong and incorrect to just sign a player for the sake of it simply so that we can say that we have got someone."

Despite Lee's comments, the lack of signings has angered many Millwall fans, who feel the board have deserted them in their time of need. With captain Matt Lawrence out for another six weeks and with youngsters Mark Phillips and Paul Robinson the only fit centre halves at the club, it was widely agreed that the signing of another defender was a priority.

However, Lee did admit that approaches were made to two unnamed players.

"One in particular, who we chased all day, eventually opted to go to another London club," revealed the manager. "Another player we identified simply didn't come here.

"It's not as if we weren't talking to players or weren't trying to do deals. Myself and Dave Tuttle have been working day and night for the last three or four weeks to bring players in.

"What I do want to stress, however, is that we will keep trying; we can only do that. We have other targets now and we have already contacted two or three clubs this morning who signed players yesterday to see if they would now be in a position to loan out in a week's time."