[h=3]Poyet in no position to open talks with top defensive duo yet[/h]12:00pm Friday 19th April 2013 in Albion By Andy Naylor
Matt Upson has impressed on loan
GUS Poyet admits he is powerless over the Albion futures of on-loan former England defenders Wayne Bridge and Matt Upson.
The Seagulls have not held discussions with the Manchester City left-back and Stoke City centre-half, due to the uncertainty surrounding whether they will be in the Championship or Premier League next season.
Bridge has been outstanding all season and Upson has been influential since signing at the end of the January transfer window.
Poyet would love to keep them both but said: “I don’t know. Unfortunately, once more, we didn’t talk to them, because we are not in a position where we can speak clearly about the future.
“If we go up I suppose it is easier for any player, because we’ll have the money to spend and it would be in our hands to offer what we think would be decent wages in the Premiership.
“If we stay in the Championship we are going to have a budget that is going to restrict plenty of things and if they are these type of players (Bridge and Upson), even more.
“It’s not even a possibility to try to analyse how much money we are going to have to offer them any kind of contract one way or another.”
Meanwhile, Poyet has praised the attitude of the long list of players out of contract in the summer.
He said: “I have never been in this situation so close to the end of the season. And I think the ten or 11 players whose contracts finish and they don’t know where they are going to be next year have been spectacular, spot-on.
“It’s credit to them as individuals, because we are all different. We’ve got families, options. Imagine if one of them had a bigger offer from another club?
“You can maybe sign abroad or what ever and you are holding on, just in case, and you have got your family behind you telling you ‘Sign, don’t care about anything and Brighton and just look at the future’. We cannot control those situations, it’s up to them and they have been spot-on so far, absolutely different class.
“It’s a terrible feeling, because I like everybody to know where they are standing, but it’s the situation.”
Original article
GUS Poyet admits he is powerless over the Albion futures of on-loan former England defenders Wayne Bridge and Matt Upson.
The Seagulls have not held discussions with the Manchester City left-back and Stoke City centre-half, due to the uncertainty surrounding whether they will be in the Championship or Premier League next season.
Bridge has been outstanding all season and Upson has been influential since signing at the end of the January transfer window.
Poyet would love to keep them both but said: “I don’t know. Unfortunately, once more, we didn’t talk to them, because we are not in a position where we can speak clearly about the future.
“If we go up I suppose it is easier for any player, because we’ll have the money to spend and it would be in our hands to offer what we think would be decent wages in the Premiership.
“If we stay in the Championship we are going to have a budget that is going to restrict plenty of things and if they are these type of players (Bridge and Upson), even more.
“It’s not even a possibility to try to analyse how much money we are going to have to offer them any kind of contract one way or another.”
Meanwhile, Poyet has praised the attitude of the long list of players out of contract in the summer.
He said: “I have never been in this situation so close to the end of the season. And I think the ten or 11 players whose contracts finish and they don’t know where they are going to be next year have been spectacular, spot-on.
“It’s credit to them as individuals, because we are all different. We’ve got families, options. Imagine if one of them had a bigger offer from another club?
“You can maybe sign abroad or what ever and you are holding on, just in case, and you have got your family behind you telling you ‘Sign, don’t care about anything and Brighton and just look at the future’. We cannot control those situations, it’s up to them and they have been spot-on so far, absolutely different class.
“It’s a terrible feeling, because I like everybody to know where they are standing, but it’s the situation.”
Original article