| City boss won't be held to ransom |
| Wednesday 12 May 2010 |
 BANGOR City manager Neville Powell says he will not be "held to ransom" by any player over wages. Although Powell has already signed up the vast majority of last season's squad for next term, striker Lee Hunt (pictured), winger Mark Smyth and defender Dave Swanick have yet to put pen to paper. Hunt is understood to have attracted offers from other clubs willing to pay well in excess of what he receives at City, but Powell insists Bangor have no intention of becoming involved in a wages war. He told Dave Jones of the Daily Post there was a strict pay structure at Farrar Road which would not be altered for any individual. Hunt only rejoined Bangor from Rhyl on transfer deadline day and was named man of the match, as well as scoring the opening goal, in the 3-2 Welsh Cup final win over Port Talbot Town. Powell is optimistic that talks with the striker this week will go well. "I expect Lee Hunt to be at Bangor City next season," he said. "He's had a taste of success here and what we're all about and I can't imagine any reason why he wouldn't want to be part of this club next season. "We're aware of other clubs offering big money, but we are not a moneybags club, we have a strict wage structure and we're not going to break it for anyone. "If Lee wants to go elsewhere for a few extra quid then there are a lot of strikers out there waiting to jump in his place.” Powell will also have discussions this week with Smyth, who had an injury-affected first season back at City, as well as Swanick, who has been out of action for some time with an Achilles problem. The Bangor boss is also looking to bring in a second goalkeeper as cover for Paul Smith, who has been a virtual ever-present for the past three seasons. "Paul's been excellent for us, but we've been lucky in that he's never had a serious injury. We've got a good young keeper in the reserves, but it's probably a bit too much to throw him straight into first team action so we're looking to bring in a second keeper," added Powell. |