I need players, says Chester boss

Mark Wright would like the chance to bring players in to ease his problems

Mark Wright has appealed to his Chester City board for an influx of new blood.

Chester lost six players on deadline day. when Mark Hughes, Eddie Johnson, Paul Butler, Tony Dinning, Paul McManus and Andy Mitchell all moved on.

And City boss Wright was minus four more through suspension and injury for Tuesday's 2-0 home defeat by Rochdale.

"We are in a predicament it's going to be hard to get out of," Wright told BBC Radio Merseyside. "They have to bring people in if this club is to survive."

Wright's primary concern is whether he is even allowed to bring in any players, given that City were placed under a transfer embargo by the Football League following last summer's dispute with their two most experienced players Butler and Dinning.

But both left the club on Monday, Dinning to go on loan to Blue Square Premier side Grays Athletic, while Butler's contract was paid up allowing him to concentrate on a move into coaching.

We've got to bring people in. We need strengthening at the back. We need a big influential midfield player and we need two strikers. If we can get them then it's a very different ball game

Chester boss Mark Wright

In addition, Hughes made a surprise move to fellow League Two side Barnet, Johnson has agreed to move to Texas to join Austin Aztecs and youngsters Paul McManus and Andy Mitchell have joined Welsh Premier League club Bangor City.

But Wright has made it clear that he was not behind the departure of midfield playmaker Hughes in particular.

"I didn't want him to go," said Wright. "Not in a million years. It wasn't my choice.

"Butler and Dinning haven't played for a long time and it was right for them to go.

"Eddie Johnson has been injured all the time and he wanted to go. He went to the board, they didn't come to me to talk about it and they did the deal.

"And the two young boys wanted to play football and, at this moment in time, weren't ready for us."

Added to that, on Tuesday night, City were badly weakened by injury and suspension.

Laurence Wilson was serving the second of a three-game ban following last week's red card at Port Vale, when Glenn Rule was also dismissed, earning him a two-game suspension.

And, although Shaun Kelly made a surprise early return from a knee problem a month ahead of schedule, fellow defender Stephen Vaughan is out for the season following a knee operation and influential midfielder Damien Mozika will be out for three weeks.

"We've got to bring people in," said Wright, whose team are still without a win in 2009, having picked up just two points out of a possible 21 in their last seven games. "We've only got babies.

"We need strengthening at the back. We need a big influential midfield player and we need two strikers.

"If we can get them then it's a very different ball game for the club. But everyone we've highlighted has moved to other clubs.

"At the end of the day, if we are allowed to do something about it, we will do and we'll bring players in.

"If not then we'll get on with it."

"This is the hardest thing we've had to do because we can't change a game.

"We had no other professional players available. But if you're asking me if there is anyone else that I could have put on there - there is no-one else."