On the day the latest report from Deloitte & Touche underlined the ever-widening gulf between the 'haves' and the 'have nots' of football clubs, Roy McFarland revealed that the wages of a Division One reserve are beyond the means of Cambridge United.

In yesterday's Cambridge Evening News the U's boss spoke about the striker without revealing his name, although in last week's On The Spot he agreed with Will Jones that Nottingham Forest's Steve Guinan was the player concerned. "We just can't get near his wages," he said. "I don't think many clubs in the division could. We hoped we might be able to come to some sort of arrangement, but it hasn't worked out."

McFarland also commented on Alex Russell's comeback for the reserves and hopes that the midfielder suffers no ill-effects after playing 45 minutes against Peterborough's second string yesterday afternoon.

"We are hoping Alex will be in contention for Saturday," he said. "He's been training well with no after-effects to the injury. There's no doubt we've missed him. In my opinion, he's not only one of the best playmakers in Division Two, but would be in the running for the award of top midfield man but for the injury."