CHAIRMAN Eddie Mitchell says Lee Bradbury will have “room to manoeuvre” in the transfer market – but only if deals fall within the club’s strict budget.

Mitchell was speaking after boss Bradbury gave the Echo an insight into his thinking ahead of a potentially busy fortnight at Dean Court.

The Cherries manager revealed he was working behind the scenes with his assistant Steve Fletcher and chief scout Des Taylor to build the strongest possible squad for the 2011-12 League One campaign.

Mitchell said he was keen to help facilitate that and confirmed funds were likely to be available – although he stressed it would not come to the detriment of the club’s long-term financial health.

Next season’s playing budget was one of the topics on the agenda when Mitchell, Bradbury and a number of key figures from the club’s hierarchy held wide-ranging talks at Dean Court yesterday.

Asked afterwards whether he would be backing Bradbury in the transfer market, Mitchell told the Echo: “Only up to the budget.

“We have got room to manoeuvre but we have got to be hard and fast about what we actually spend.

“We don’t want to find ourselves back where we were when we came into the club.

“What we can’t afford to do is risk the club to do it.”

Mitchell added: “If we do lose a player to a transfer during the close-season, then that money would be available to replace.

“It is a juggling act to a degree but I want to keep a relatively settled side and I think we will achieve that this season.”

Bradbury said: “We have got a lot of things in the pipeline but nothing has happened as yet.

“The chairman expressed how pleased he was with the squad last year and we are determined to keep them all together and add a couple of additions to push on.

“We have got scope to bring in people but we don’t just want to go out and buy people because we feel we need to. We want to bring in the right people – the right characters and the right players.

“It is not easy and it is a big market out there at the moment. But at the same time, we don’t want to miss the boat either. It is all about timing and getting it right.”

Addressing supporters, Bradbury added: “Just be patient would be the message. Who we bring in reflects on us, the club and the team, so we want to make sure it is right.”