Hartlepool United's Financial Fair Play dilemma as Keith Curle explains January transfer plan

While the financial fair play (FFP) regulations differ slightly in the EFL to that of the Premier League, clubs in League One and League Two still must pay attention to their spending on player wages in relation to their turnover in accordance with the salary cost management protocol (SCMP) after plans for a salary cap were scrapped last year.

The SCMP limits spending on player wages to within a percentage of a club's turnover, that turnover in League Two being around 55 per cent.

And with Keith Curle likely to be busy bringing in players next month, this after the club brought in 16 new faces in the summer, it may mean one or two will have to leave to ensure the club does not encroach its turnover expenditure in relation to wages.

In the summer, Pools balanced out their 16 new arrivals as 12 contracted players left the club, with the five January loan players also returning to their parent clubs, and while there is unlikely to be a similar turnover of players in January, Curle has already acknowledged there will be players leaving the club next month.

“It can be [an issue],” Curle told The Mail when asked whether FFP could be a problem.

“But within that, the working model we’ve got, there’s an understanding that some players will be leaving the building.

“I understand about balancing the books. You don’t give the Mrs £7 to go shopping in Harrods for example.”

But when it comes to players leaving, Curle may find himself in a challenging position where some may be unwilling to move on from longer-term deals.

It could mean some of those players on loan may be asked to return to their parent clubs as we have seen with Curle’s stance over Sunderland’s Ellis Taylor - although there has yet to have been any official confirmation on his return.

But Curle insists he has already given certain players clarification on their future at the Suit Direct Stadium.

“It will be a culmination of lots of different things,” said Curle.

“Without giving too much away, I've got a clear understanding of the reshuffle that needs to happen. A few players have spoken to me and a few players’ representatives have spoken to me that are here and they’ve got clarity.

“They’ve got an understanding that some of it is for their betterment, that they need to be going and playing football and playing games regularly.

“I don’t hide away from the fact that I'm here to protect the players and also develop and improve the players that leave as well. No player is going to improve and develop if they’re not playing games.

“So players who are here and not playing games, sending them on, or helping them get on a journey to improve elsewhere, that's us as a football club doing our job.

“The easiest thing to do is collect players, let them get stagnant and stale, and not play games and then get rid of them at the end of their contract.”