JUDGING by the reaction of Gareth Southgate to an unusally direct question at Boro's pre-Reading press conference today, the chances of signing Manchester City defender Sylvain Distin are fading fast.
Amid the usual tame questioning that invites all the easy headline cliches Southgate was suddenly faced with a very simple inquiry. Having established that the fee had been agreed, that Boro's moneymen had spoken to his people, and that Southgate had spoken to Distin to "sell" the club in football terms, he was asked: "Do you think he will sign for Boro then?"
This was a golden opportunity for Southgate to assert confidently that yes, he did think that Distin would sign. Obviously, he may have continued, there were hurdles to be overcome, still have to thrash out the details, blah blah blah, but yes I think he will come.
In fact he retreated into managerspeak and an explanation of the on-going complexities that suggested that a deal is far from complete and the manager is far from confident that it can be sealed successfully. The recruitment position now appears far less certain than the new bosses' assertion a week ago that two signings "were close".
Of course there are reasons for these things, 40,000 of them. Distin appears to be a canny operator who has played off Boro's interest against City's desire for him to sign a new deal that has been improved significantly over the course of the saga. Talk of money-bags Portsmouth's interest will raise the bar further,
And the back-tracking on a move that seemed a formality once Boro's bid was accepted - and a similar situation looming over Blackburn's Brett Emerton - was accompanied by some phraseology that reinforced the impression that new signings were perhaps not so pressing.
"If we can add to the current squad then fantastic," he said. "We want to do that and we are trying but the important thing to remember is that I'm very happy with the squad that we have.
“I have said all along that the players in the dressing room are good enough tob take us up the table. We under-achieved in the Premiership last season mainly because we were concentrating on the two cup competitions. We are not in Europe this season and I believe that we are good enough to make an impact with the players we have got."
To say that he is happy to go with what he has got is a considerable political move away from the earlier position of having identified areas where the team clearly needed strengthening. You wonder what George Boateng, who has consistantly said the club need three more new faces, will make of it. And indeed, you wonder what already anxious supporters will make of it when even the most optimistic have serious doubts about the defence and a string of moves have collapsed in a frustrating summer.
That said it could be shrewd mindgames,the publicly stated notion that Boro are happy to start the season as they are being used to quash the impression of rising desperation and to counter Distin and Emerton's belief that having the club over a barrel they can write themselves a blank cheque. It could be, but you get the impression that Southgate is too honest and principled to indulge in such devious black propaganda.
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