WANDERERS tried to sign former loan star Paul Hayes in January but couldn't afford his wages, club chairman Don Woodward has revealed.

The 30-year-old striker became a firm favourite amongst the Adams Park faithful after netting six goals in six games in a month's loan spell in 2012.

Blues were interested in bringing him back to the club on a permanent basis after his contract with League One side Brentford was cancelled earlier this season.

Hayes trialled with Wanderers and expressed an interest in signing on, but Woodward said the player's wages were a stumbling block.

He instead elected to join another of his former clubs, Scunthorpe United, and has scored three goals in the first seven games of his second spell with the Iron.

Woodward said that experience highlighted how crucial it was that a planned takeover of a 75 per cent stake in the club went ahead or fans contributed to a mooted share issue.

He said: "We had a situation in January where we would have liked to bring in a centre forward. He came and trialled here for a week and did brilliantly.

"When he asked us to sign on the dotted line we found he was asking for a little bit more money than we could afford.

"Could we have done with him? Yes. Should we have been able to afford him? Yes. Did we have the money to pay him? No. It's that sort of situation I don't want the club to get back into again."