Training Better Than Loan Deals

"Giuseppe scored nine goals in 16 matches for Parma and the consensus is that he kept them up. Everyone says that.

"Gerard played 24 games for Zaragoza and did exceptionally well. We got all the videos of the players and watched what they did in training. They will certainly come back.

"I have to make sure we have a strong enough pool this season," he said.

"When we reached that AC Milan game, we didn't have enough freshness in the team to do ourselves justice.

"It was a big blow and one of the reasons why I am quite keen to get the young lads back who were on loan last year.

"They may not play quite as regularly if they stay with us but I actually think they will develop their game better by training with the first team.

"And, the added advantage is if we do get those injuries again, we will have a much better back-up."