Former Nottingham Forest boss Mark Warburton has opened up on what it’s like to be a manager during the January transfer window.
Warburton, who spent a year at the City Ground, is back in management with Queens Park Rangers after two years away from the dugout.
He has made a steady start to life at Loftus Road, with the R’s eight points off the Championship play-off places.
Warburton will now be firmly back in the transfer madness this month, and it will only get busier with just over a week left until the window closes.
And the former Reds boss has lifted the lid on what it’s like to work in and amongst it.
“It is not always what you want, it is about what you can get,” Warburton told the Sky Sports EFL Podcast on the January window.
“Also protecting the players that you've got, especially towards the end of the window, and making sure you don't lose one or two prized assets.
“You have to understand what you can do, money-wise. So what you can bring in? And what would make your team better with the quality that you don't possess right now? But, at the same time, you have to face the fact that you can lose one and if you do.
“But in January, it has got to be on your club's terms. So the £5million player becomes £8m. £10m becomes £15m. That's the nature of it.
You have to make sure you have a clear understanding that if A, B and C happen, you have a plan of what to do after.
“But the trouble is, late in the window, you are left with very few options.”
Warburton returns to the City Ground next month, when Forest play host to QPR on February 22.
