Source: Bournemouth_Echo
Cherries: Hands off Pitman!
CHAIRMAN Eddie Mitchell insists Cherries have no plans to sell prize asset Brett Pitman and has described the prospect of losing any player as unwanted.[LNB] Pitman has been the subject of speculation since realising his rich potential under boss Eddie Howe, his goalscoring exploits firing Cherries to the top of League Two this season.[LNB] The 21-year-old was this week linked with a £400,000 move to Plymouth, while a number of other Championship clubs including Reading are understood to have watched him on several occasions.[LNB] However, with the January transfer window looming and Cherries still subject to a strict embargo, majority shareholder Mitchell says the club is keen to ward off interest in its homegrown star striker.[LNB] He told the Daily Echo: I have spoken to the manager at length and the decision would largely be his. But we are of the same opinion and neither of us would want to see Brett go at this stage of his career.[LNB] He has so much natural ability and there is a lot more to come from him. Eddie has worked very hard with Brett and he is the one who can keep getting it out of him.[LNB] Like Eddie and Jason themselves, Brett may eventually outgrow the club. But if we can hang on to him, I think we would benefit in the long run, both financially and as a team.[LNB] My own view is that we have got a great bunch of lads here so the last thing we want is to start making holes in the squad.[LNB] Mitchell, who confirmed the club was under no pressure to sell, said he was cautiously optimistic a recent request to relax the embargo would be met favourably by the Football League.[LNB] He added: We submitted more information on our proposals to move forward earlier this week and a member of the board will be visiting the Football League for dialogue.[LNB] We would like to think that we could persuade them to allow us to have loan players. I don't think for one minute that the embargo will be lifted but there is a chance they might take us down a notch.[LNB] Hopefully, they will look positively at what we have achieved and the way we have conducted ourselves financially.[LNB] We have been keeping up to date with our commitments and, without the legacy debt, we made a £20,000 profit this month.[LNB] We are eating into the debt and, once we clear it, I think we will be a very competitive football club. I'm not pulling the club along, it is pushing me along and that's the way it should be.[LNB] We almost cracked the 7,000-barrier on Tuesday and that was with the Champions League on television. We've got a proper football club on our hands now.[LNB] Everybody associated with the club deserves a pat on the back. I'm enjoying my time here and it's been a real eye-opener. I just wish I had got involved sooner.[LNB]
