Planet Swans ArchivesSlade said on the eve of the Glovers match with the Swans that Scotland was top of his list last summer along with Manchester United youngster Frazier Campbell although he missed out on both targets.
He admits that Scotland was out of his range financially – something that he must rue now as he looks at a side that is heading for the Championship with Scotland just one short of the magical 30 goal barrier.
Speaking to the Western Daily Press, Slade said "He was certainly my No 1 target in the summer, but unfortunately we were unable to afford him.
"One of the other targets was Manchester United's Fraizer Campbell. If he hadn't gone to the Championship with Hull we might well have been able to persuade Sir Alex Ferguson to send him down here. But that is life."
Slade also said that whilst his side performed well before Christmas this was down to the presence, in part, of Swansea midfielder Darren Way who spent a part of the earlier part of the season on loan back at Huish Park "It is incredibly difficult and frustrating to come to terms with because when we went to Luton on January 1 we were playing for three points to go second in the table," said Slade.
"We had vastly overachieved but at that time we had James Walker and Darren Way, who I wanted to keep, on loan in the team. We lost them and we have had injuries since then.
"We have to be realistic and we can't be greedy. We have to understand that success this season is going to be being in League One next season."
