Bristol City have missed out on one key summer transfer target after Nigel Pearson confirmed a player they were pursuing has opted to join another club.
The Robins have three of four transfer targets they will immediately attempt to sign at the end of the season, including Aberdeen's defensive utility player Ross McCrorie with the club set to face competition from their Championship rivals for his signature.
There could be numerous factors as to why the unknown player opted for a different team, such as wages, location, and league position but Pearson would not be despondent, saying he will not waste energy with people who do not want to be at the club.
After the defeat at Watford, he told Bristol Live: "One of the players that we've been working quite hard to try and potentially bring in has already chosen to go somewhere.
"There's no point wasting energy on stuff like that. Just say 'Okay, let's move on' because we only want players at our club who want to be at the club. I don't want to be involved in messing about with agents who are just pitting one club against the other to try and get the best deal.
"I want players who are bothered about coming to us because they want to play for us. Simple."
Given the hard work to reduce the wage bill over the last two years, City are working within a salary structure to which the manager has previously highlighted the challenges of implementing. The club will act quickly at the end of the season to bring in their top targets with work already being concluded behind the scenes and an emphasis on recruiting defensive players to bolster the backline and midfield.
AFC Wimbledon left-back Jack Currie and Crystal Palace's centre-back Jake O'Brien, currently on loan with Belgian side RWD Molenbeek, are two players City missed out on in January and may look to revisit in the summer. Pearson has also previously reflected his disappointment in failing to sign Reda Khadra both last summer and in the January window.
City's defeat at Watford left them in 15th, but five points better off than at this point last season. That in itself is evidence of progress being made on the pitch while there has been an emphasis on the shift in mentality.
Over the course of the campaign, there has arguably been only a handful of performances that were deemed unacceptable but the inconsistency in results can stem from injuries within a small squad and the inexperience of talented academy players who have played major parts across a relentless campaign.
"We're just trying to produce a squad that gives our fan belief that we are making progress," Pearson added. "You won't hear me bleating on about money and resources and stuff like that, actually we are all working very hard together at the club to try and find a route to getting success.
"You've got to be able to work within the confines of the circumstances you are working in. That's pretty straightforward.
"Our fans have been pretty tolerant, sometimes they will voice their opinions - of course, they will - if they don't see what they want to see but we've got a lot of young, homegrown players coming through the system at our club who are performing very, very well.
"We've got some good senior players, we're trying to make progress and trying to be as transparent as possible with our fanbase so for me, that's all you can do.
"You have to recognise what the environment is, and you then work accordingly don’t waste too much energy on things that you can’t change.”
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