Paul Heckingbottom says the confirmation that Tommy Wright will stay on as his assistant is a 'great signing' while he is still hunting at least four more additions to his playing squad.
Wright was seen as a key figure in Barnsley's run to promotion last season after he stayed on to support Heckingbottom following Lee Johnson's move to Bristol City. Johnson was keen to take the 50-year-old Scottish coach to the Reds' Championship rivals this summer but Heckingbottom has revealed that Wright, who had been on a rolling contract, has decided to remain at Oakwell.
"Tommy is staying, which is great news," the head coach told the Chronicle. "It is like a new signing. There was a lot of interest in him and he was constantly talking to me about it as he made his decision.
"But he's decided to stay and continue what we achieved last season, which he was a massive part of. We have said as a football club that we want to keep hold of our best players, but it applies to coaching staff as well. Before I signed my contract as head coach, I was very clear that keeping people like Tommy was a priority. I have been telling him I wanted him to stay and I'm really glad he has. It's a great signing for us." Having secured Wright, Heckingbottom insists he will do all he can to keep star players such as Sam Winnall and Conor Hourihane, the captain. That pair both have one year left on their contracts and are understood to be attracting considerable interest from other clubs, although no official bids are thought to have been made as yet. Heckingbottom wants to extend their contracts at Oakwell but admits that may be difficult.
The Reds boss said: "We would like to get them signed on longer deals and they know we want them. There haven't been any detailed talks about it yet and they have only just got back for pre-season. I have spoken to both Conor and Sam about this season being massive for their careers. They might want to see out their contract here and then be free agents next summer which they are entitled to do because they have played really well for us and got us promoted. Ideally they will establish themselves in the Championship with us, we will establish ourselves as a strong Championship club and they will stay."
The Reds have had bids turned down for Walsall striker Tom Bradshaw and Plymouth captain Curtis Nelson. Heckingbottom said the interest continues in both players but that they were not close to agreeing a fee with either club. They are monitoring last season's loan stars Lloyd Isgrove and Ashley Fletcher.
Heckingbottom added: "We want at least four new players. Ideally they would be permanent signings but we might have to make some loan signings as well, which worked well for us last season. We are not that close to any signings as the moment but we know what positions we want to recruit in and hopefully we have a few more coming in in the next couple of weeks.
"It's not an easy process but it's one we will get right. We need players with quality, not just numbers. We'd like to get all our signings done in the next couple of weeks so we know the squad we're working with going into the season."
The new arrivals are a continuation of Barnsley's policy of scouring the lower leagues for young players with potential. Heckingbottom said: "If we were trying to sign players who had played 100 Championship games and were proven at this level, we would have lots of competition and we wouldn't be able to afford them. It would be a waste of time. We have to accept that we are more or less the smallest club in the division, financially.
"We might be able to get some experienced Championship players that no other clubs want but they would probably be over the hill and just trying to get one more season at this level. That's not the route we want to go down. We want players we can develop like we have with Sam Winnall, Conor Hourihane, Marc Roberts, Marley Watkins, Josh Scowen, Alfie Mawson and Adam Davies."
