The perils of new signings for a relegation scrap

Harry Redknapp did well when he bought John Hartson and Paul Kitson

January is a tricky time for the managers of those teams who are sitting down at the wrong end of the Premier League table.

If their side is facing a relegation battle over the second half of the campaign, then they have a real decision to make. They can either convince the chairman to get the chequebook out and spend big in the hope of revitalising the squad, or they can clamour around looking for a gem on loan, or they retain faith with the players that they have.

It seems logical to think that if you're existing squad hasn't been good enough over the first half of the season, then surely the best way to give yourself a fighting chance of avoiding the drop is by splashing the cash on a whole number of new faces. If you do this, you expect these new players to give the team a new bit of impetus that can take you up the table over the coming months.

However, it does not often work out as simply as that. If the plan works it is fabulous, the boss is heralded, and the team spirits lift as the side climbs the table. But when it does go wrong managers are left with egg on their face and a squad packed full of players on big money who are not going to be happy playing Championship football.

One of the greatest examples of new faces bringing about a massive upturn in fortunes was the signings of Paul Kitson and John Hartson at West Ham in January 1997. This was the days before the transfer window, so Harry Redknapp brought these two in in the middle of February with the Hammers languishing down the wrong end of the table and in the midst of a right old relegation scrap. Kitson, who was brought in from Newcastle, scored eight goals in 14 games as he forged a formidable partnership with Hartson and the two were responsible for West Ham finishing the season up in 12th.

Another fantastic move saw Steve Bruce sign Christope Duggary on loan for Birmingham in January 2003. The enigmatic Frenchman was an instant hit at St Andrew's and scored five goals in Birmingham's last six games to help the club avoid Premier League relegation. He did sign permanently that summer, but unfortunately didn't enjoy the same success as during that miraculous loan spell.

Unfortunately, Fulham showed last season what can happen when such a January gamble does wrong. They paid Olympiakos 12.4 million for the Greek striker Kostas Mitroglou in the belief he could get the goals to rocket them out of trouble. However, he got injured early on and was then rarely used by Felix Magath, appearing in only three games between arriving in January and the end of the season. In the end, Fulham slumped down to the Championship and Mitroglou ended up heading straight back to his former club on loan.

In January 2013 Redknapp himself was guilty of spending big at QPR in the hope of avoiding the drop, but a 12.5m move for Christopher Samba went wrong. It was a lot of money to pay Anzhi for the defender but he could not save QPR from the drop and was quickly out of Loftus Road to Dynamo Moscow.

The problem with bringing in new faces in January, whether you're side is at the top of the league or the bottom, is prices are distorted. Players tend to cost more in January and will almost certainly cost more if other chairman know you are looking to desperately spend in order to boost your squad.

There is some degree of risk, in that bringing in a plethora of new faces can disrupt the harmony in the squad. The players who have bonded over months and years prior won't be happy seeing new faces coming in to potentially take their place in the side. It can also give those already in the dressing room the impression that you think they have failed, and new blood is required to fix the problems they have created.

Dressing room unrest is always a terrible thing to have at a club, but it is especially bad in a relegation battle. Egos will already be fragile and the atmosphere is likely to be tense. The worst thing that can happen is for an environment to be created where everyone is cautious around each other and, upon conceding goals, the heads drop and a feeling of 'here we go again' comes across the players. If that happens, that can be the death knell on a side.

It is down to the skills of the manager to identify players with both the on-the-field talents but also the off-the-pitch personality and temperament to be able to slot into a struggling side. Seeing as though a January signing ideally needs to hit the ground running - there is no bedding-in period of grace available - they need to be of a certain calibre to be able to make an instant impact. If they do make such an impact, then the rest of the dressing room will be lifted and this can result in an upturn in fortunes.

While one or two players may seamlessly be able to fit in, it takes a bold manager to bring in five or six new faces and try to throw them straight away into the first team. It is true that new faces can make a huge difference to a struggling team - but finding these players will be tough as everyone in the bottom half of the Premier League will be chasing such a man.

Simply throwing money at the problem in January and bringing in a large number of new players in the dream of an instant impact is a real gamble, and one that fails more often than not.