MILLWALL have a list of attacking players they are interested in in January – but Gary Rowett insists they are not “desperate” for reinforcements.
Rowett still wants to boost his squad but said he would “walk away” from any deal that isn’t right for the club.
At the start of the January window the Lions were targeting a left-sided player, a midfielder and an attacker.
Ryan Woods arrived from Stoke last week. But Rowett stressed it would not be a concern if that was the only January arrival.
“There’s a pool of players we’re looking at. We’re not desperately looking, I don’t think we have to bring one in to define our season. We have to be a little bit careful,” Rowett said.
“The midfield one was an obvious one, we needed a player in there. Elsewhere I think we’ve got huge potential in one or two players who maybe haven’t quite hit those marks yet.
“Every deal has to be the right one, if it’s not we’ll walk away from it.
“I’d rather not name players, but we’ve got quite a few players we’re looking at. If one of those lands and it’s right, then great. If it doesn’t then I certainly won’t be concerned about the rest of the season.”
Rowett could seek a permanent deal for Woods. The midfielder is on loan from Stoke until the end of the season. He is contracted until 2021 but could be available in the summer after a frustrating last twelve months.
“If that’s the case we’d always be interested,” Rowett said. “But he’s Stoke’s player and we’ll obviously be respectful to that.
“It’s hard because you’re trying to answer to bits of speculation and you don’t want to be disrespectful by mentioning players.
“If we sign someone on loan we’ll only really do it if there’s a chance that they could become our player down the line. But nothing’s been discussed and nothing’s been set in stone with that.”
Woods fell out of favour at Stoke under Nathan Jones and then Michael O’Neill after briefly regaining his place.
Rowett added: “That’s a manager with his own ideas. As with any manager you’re then judged on the results. Woodsy’s argument would be that they weren’t winning as many games when he was out of the side as they were when he was in it.
“He’s an influential player. He’s a player that needs to get back to playing regular football to see him at his best.
“You saw Saturday a player that can influence a game, and he’d only trained once after not playing that much. He settled into the group really quickly because he’s a good character.
“Every manager has their own ideas what they want to do and on their style of play. We’re all judged on whether that’s successful or not.”
Image: Millwall FC