ANDY RITCHIE is happy to buy into Town's policy of not paying agents - even if it makes his job harder.
The Galpharm manager is ready to launch a recruitment drive with the aim of building a squad capable of taking the club into the Championship.
The man who led Barnsley to promotion from League I last season (pictured) has known since taking the Town job that any fees to agents will have to be met by incoming players - and he fully agrees.
"Dealing with agents is part of any manager's job, but it's not something I particularly enjoy," said the man who, this time last year, was preparing the Reds for their play-off semi-final meetings with Town.
"The truth is I'm not certain whether the policy of not paying agents will make it harder to bring players in. I'll say in another month or so!
"But I am fully behind the policy, because I don't see any reason why the club should pay anything.
"The agent is working for the player, so they should pay."
In broader terms, the behaviour of some agents is a bugbear of Ritchie's.
"In my experience, there are too many times when they try to push players the way they want them to go," added the man who guided Town to a final position of 15th with two wins and a draw in his four matches at the helm.
"I believe players should be stronger with their representatives.
"If they feel they want to play for a particular club and that's where their interests are best served as a player, then they should say to their agent 'get it sorted for me'."
As he finalises his retained list, Ritchie also reckons those players not offered new Town contracts will discover their agent's worth.
"Those on top of the job will have been scouting around setting up some options should their players not be retained," he explained.
