Knill wants to groom stars of the future (From Bury Times)

Knill wants to groom stars of the future

6:20pm Friday 23rd May 2008

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ALAN Knill is looking forward to making a million as manager of Bury.

Having sold rising stars Will Hoskins and Lee Williamson to Watford for six-figure fees at his former club Rotherham, the Shakers boss is keen to keep the tills ringing at Gigg Lane too.

Knill is busy assembling a squad capable of continuing their post-Christmas form, which saw them climb quickly from 22nd to 13th in a little over three months, and has spoken to both a midfielder and a goalkeeper with a view to signing the pair early next week.

And rather than pursue the well-trodden path of promising to keep his squad together at any cost, he is actively instructing potential signings to use the Shakers as a springboard to bigger and better things.

"That's my job and that's how I sell myself," Knill said. "Players know that if they come to my club I will make them better.

"The ones I want to bring in have got to know this league and how to play in it. There is no use bringing in a player who won't be pushing someone in the first team.

"We have got young kids at the club already. There is a certain age of player I like to sign, and if they are younger, we have to be able to make them better and sell them on.

"That's the way it has got to be. I have done it before and made a million quid, it is good for me and good for the club."

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