Manager Chris Beech confirmed at his Thursday morning press conference that interest in right back George Tanner had started to grow towards the end of last week, with his eventual move to Bristol City being closed off following the weekend trip to Hartlepool.
“There’s a balance to trying to stop a player from going,” he said. “You could argue whether we should stand strong or not.
“Often in my position, you have information and influence in it, but sometimes decisions are made anyway. You have to maximise every output from our perspective to represent us on a Saturday.
“I think energy started last Thursday with regards to George, and in regard to that getting hotter over the next 24 hours, as it did. I was aware, but the club did stand strong, and did want value.
“But, as a manager, preparing to play Hartlepool, you want George playing full-tilt with no distraction and him being right at it, because you want to win.
“That’s what happens sometimes when you’re not at the top of the food chain. We’re not. It is what it is. But I must say, and when other factors come into play, getting this interest in the first place is a representation of good recruitment, good coaching and doing things very well.
“I know we all have opinions on what we should do, how we should do certain things, how we play, but we’re obviously doing something very well, otherwise we wouldn’t have sold two players this window, there’d be no interest in them.
“But there’s lots of interest. One of the biggest things on deadline day for me was yes, trying to represent ourselves correctly against Hartlepool, but also making sure nobody else left.
“That for me was like we’d recruited players, people actually still being in the building. Jarrad Branthwaite, Hallam Hope, Aaron Hayden, George Tanner, they’re people that have all been paid for, but of course you want to retain good players in the summer.
“These things do happen but you have to be active and positive after it, because I want to represent three points every time we play.”
