Kevin Blackwell will get down to business this week, mapping out his team plans for a sustained promotion assault next season.

After a weekend of mixed emotions - he was appointed manager on a three year deal but then saw his play-off hopes evaporate - Blackwell addressed several major issues.

First he confirmed that the Club had every intention of holding on to James Beattie who himself has insisted that he is more than happy at Bramall Lane, and then insisted that he would adhere to the Club's refusal to subscribe to a 'boom or bust' philosophy:

"In any business if you spend more money than you have then you are going to be in trouble. Even at well-run clubs like ours you do checks and balances to make sure that you stay stable. It is my job to look after this football club."

However, the Blades boss still intends to wheel and deal in the transfer market and has made tentative enquiries about the availability of some targets. Any newcomer must, however, be of the right mental calibre:

"People often underestimate just what pressure players can be under, and especially at a club like ours in this division where expectations are, quite rightly, high.

"It is about more than ability, a player here has to have the mental toughness to be able to cope and to perform before a large crowd in which supporters demand success."

Finally, the long term futures of loanees John Halls and David Cotterill have to be considered, the latter being out of contract at Reading in the summer and the Wigan winger possibly available for transfer from Wigan:

"I didn't had the opportunity to discuss things with them before the weekend because the final game was our priority, both in terms of immediate priority and also because our future next season was still undecided.

"But I'll be speaking to David and John this week and we'll see what happens then."