Times So Hard Strachan Asks For Favours

Last updated : 03 January 2010 By Boro Mad

Strachanpersuaded loan signing Marcus Bent to stay for another fortnight and handed 19-year-old Jonathan Franks a second start in the FA Cup 3rd round tie against City.

But he lost star man Adam Johnson to a recurrence of his hamstring problem and his replacement Marvin Emnes with a rib injury.

Gordon Strachan: "I have to make some signings.

"It needs to be done because it is not often you get a situation where at a good club, you have to ask somebody to come back for two weeks to you for a favour.

"That doesn't go on at too many clubs, and that's where we are at the moment.

"We have got a 19-year-old who just made his debut last week.

"We need to do something for these young ones, because we don't want to push them too early."