Frustrated Hythe boss Clive Cook will not be held to ransom by transfer targets as pre-season draws closer.

Cook has been in talks with several players for weeks but as yet hasn’t finalised deals to bring them to Reachfields.

He’s been patient but won’t wait indefinitely as the Cannons prepare to report back for training on June 30.

Cook said: "I know it sounds like I’m messing around but I’m not. It’s just taking a long
time.

"I’ve got my fingers in the pies, I’m just waiting for answers now. It’s a bit frustrating because I want to get settled down.

"It’s being patient and I’m not really one for that but there’s one on holiday, he’ll let me know on Sunday when he comes back and another one’s waiting for someone else. It just goes on and on.

"You keep patience but I’m running out a little bit now. It’s got to be done by the weekend.

"What surprises me is the money. That’s the big shock for me, how football is being taken over by money even at grassroots level. When I hear some of the deals players have got, I find it incredible.

"That’s why I like to do my business early. If you wait, it goes on, like a merry-go-round.

"I’ll go to a limit and then that’s it, I pull out. No player is worth the jeopardy of a football club.

"You’ve got to be realistic in what you’re doing and there’s got to be a line where you say ‘that’s it, I’m not going any further’ because you feel they push, push,
push.

"You’ve got to be a little bit patient, hold your bottle and don’t get carried away, don’t get silly. I have a view of what the player’s worth. If they want a lot more than that, that’s it, forget it."

Read the full story in the Folkestone & Hythe Express.