I have always believed that records are established to be broken. Our 2010/11 campaign has already created its own record, it is the first time in the Club's 74 years at professional level that we've won four consecutive away games at the start of the season.

While we should all be pleased with the excellent start we have made against some tough opposition, we need to recognise that there is still a mighty long way to go.

I was delighted that we were able to announce the successful conclusion of the transfer of Jason Scotland from Wigan earlier in the week.

This particular transfer highlighted just how long and drawn out the process can be. Firstly the negotiations have to be concluded with the other club, it is often difficult however to bottom out whether they really want to sell the player or are just trying to drive up the price.

Furthermore it is often difficult to know if their interest in the sale of a particular player is dependent upon the acquisition of another player to replace the outgoing one.

This can be a bit like buying and selling a house and we all know how often these chains collapse affecting everyone involved.
In addition there are the negotiations with the player and his agent who may be trying to play one club off against another and all the time certainly trying to drive up the personal terms.

You then have the additional dimension of a change in circumstances unconnected to the player in question but which results in one of the clubs changing their position, such was the case with Jason.

Injuries to the Wigan squad in the build up to their game against Chelsea last weekend meant that their manager Robert Martinez insisted that Jason was in their squad. This meant that that deal could not go through until Monday this week despite being agreed at the beginning of last week.

It made it hugely frustrating for Roy [Keane] but I'm delighted we got our man in the end.

While much speculation appears in newspapers and various fans websites and frustrations grow through lack of instant acquisitions it needs to be recognised that buying and selling players is a complex business and often akin to playing multi dimensional chess where your opponents next move is dependent upon another game that he is playing with another opponent.

Any club can simply throw endless amounts of money at the transfer market but firstly it is no guarantee of success and secondly it simply undermines the financial viability of the business.

We are fortunate to have such a committed and generous owner but a very high priority for this Club is to ensure that we do not get ourselves into the same position we have been in before, a position experienced by other Championship clubs last season and which I fear we will see again in the not so distant future.

After the excellent start to the season we will continue to cautiously build the squad to fit the vision of the manager within a reasonable budget.
The English football club model is changing and we need to make ensure we are in a position to make the most of it to deliver where it really counts on the pitch.