A despondent Swansea City manager reported his dismay at the new guidelines for football this afternoon, but also at the difference in legislation for England and Wales. Not only that it seems he believes that the swans January business could be very much affected, with caution and fluidity the key words.

Speaking to the press Martin said. We had very little time when we came in. There were three weeks left in the transfer window an we had to work out what we had in the building — who was going to fit it and suit us and who wasn’t going to play so much. Then we had to get the new guys to fit in. It was all very difficult and this January was supposed to be easier with all the planning and clarity backed up by data. With the new restrictions people are going to be a lot more cautious than they were and it was already a cautious market because of all the implications of last season. We have tried to plan for every eventuality and we have some contingency plans. It has taken a lot of hours of conversation and arguing to get to this point. The situation is really fluid. The next three games at home, we are going to have no-one there. After that, who knows? That is affecting us already. There is no doubt it. Speaking to Julian [Winters] and to Mark [Allen], and speaking to the owners, it will be a case of seeing when those restrictions ease up or whether they get extended. We will have to see what it is. But it is affecting us already — by how much, I’m not sure yet. It will take a few more conversations and a bit more working out from the people back at the stadium, who are brilliant. "Once they work all that out, we will pretty much know what we have to work with. But the landscape has already changed and I expect it will change again at some point."

So it’s a more fluid situation for Martin, and the issues he already faced, one of those was trying to entice other clubs to come in for those he didn’t want seems now just a minor issue. It’s another nail in the seasons progress, and since the first one was hammered in around mid November life doesn’t seem to be getting any better.

Photographs licensed from Reuters

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