BOSS MORO ON TO SOLDIER WITHOUT MONEY MEN

STEVE Morison’s recruitment policy is simple: if you’re in it for the money, you aren’t welcome at Sutton.

- Chris Dunlavy

“We've lost out on a few players this summer who'd rather go and play in the league below and get paid £300 or £400 more,” explains the former Millwall, Norwich and Leeds striker.

“And to be quite honest with you, I’m really comfortable with that. Because if someone wants to play at a lower level for a bit more money, that tells me more about that person than any amount of scouting or data or character references.

“We want people who feel they’ve got potential. We want people who have got the hunger and desire to go and kick on in their career. We want people who see Sutton as an opportunity to improve themselves. What we don’t want is people coming here for a payday.”

That may sound rich coming from a player who spent two seasons in the Premier League, won 20 caps for Wales and made enough money in his professional career to ensure a relatively comfortable retirement.

But the 41-year-old has been there and done it. Released by Northampton in his early twenties, Morison rebuilt his career at Bishop’s Stortford and Stevenage, where his commitment to self-improvement stretched to paying a specialist sprint coach in the off season.

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It is partly why, 16 years after he was handed an EFL break by Millwall, Morison is so keen to provide others with a similar opportunity.