Portsmouth CEO Mark Catlin defends club's transfer policy prior to key wage cap vote

Under new guidelines approved by 16 of League One’s 24 members, clubs must now adhere to a £2.5m salary ceiling and work with a squad of 22 players, not including those under the age of 21.

Yet before last Friday’s historic decision, which the Blues voted against, any player already registered or recently signed up until and including August 7 would not have their salaries capped at the now accepted weekly average of £1,300.

It prompted Catlin to warn against a ‘mini-auction’ for players’ signatures in a previous interview with The News.

He also remained adamant that there would be no ‘crazy contacts’ offered at Fratton Park during an anticipated stampede for signings.

Pompey stayed true to their word in that respect, with Sean Raggett’s permanent move back to the club the only transfer business carried out before the vote.

Meanwhile, Lee Brown was also offered a new deal following the expiry of his contract.

It was an approach that drew criticism of some sections of supporters, who have been frustrated by the lack of new signings so far this summer.

However, Catlin explained the logic behind the decision – and the Blues’ subsequent lack of transfer business since – in his latest Q&A with the club’s website.

He said: ‘All you can register this coming year is 22 players.

‘There's 20 (players currently in the squad) with Haji Mnoga (age 18) and 19 without, so we have already got 19 contracted players.

‘So, under the salary cap, all we can register is three more players.

‘There’s two months to go until the close of the transfer window, we still have four weeks to go until the start of the league campaign, and undoubtedly during this time we may pick up injuries or Kenny might look at players and go "I’m not sure about this player or that player”.

‘So the three spaces we’ve got gives us flexibility.

‘That’s aligned with the fact that we have consistently been talking with the likes of Championship clubs and Premier League clubs in regards to the loan market, and three loans is probably about the sweet spot in regard of loans.

‘They will not allow their players to go until they’ve got them back to pre-season training, had a look at them, and then decide whether they're going to loan them out to Portsmouth knowing the new salary cap rules as well.

‘So we are in constant dialogue with them, a number of Premier League clubs and Championship clubs.

‘But what we didn’t want to do was sign up players in a rush to beat the salary cap and then not have any spaces to bring people in given the issues I've just mentioned previously.’

The current transfer window opened on Monday, July 27.

It will close at 11pm on Monday, October 5, with an agreement in place with the Premier League for an extended two-week domestic only window which will close at 5pm on Friday, October 16.