AFC Fylde may look to replace midfielder

The 31-year-old rejoined Darlington FC earlier this week after almost 18 months with the Coasters, scoring twice in 39 appearances.

Hatfield’s exit offers scope for squad strengthening as the Coasters look to consolidate their place in the National League after last season’s promotion.

However, speaking ahead of today’s trip to Wealdstone, Murray reiterated nobody will be signed just to make up the numbers.

Fylde’s head coach told The Gazette: “That (midfield) is an area where we’ve been looking.

“We’ve got a lot of technical players in there, so we’re looking for someone else.

“At the same time, we’re very happy with the squad we’ve got so, unless the perfect one pops up, we won’t be jumping into anything.”

If a new signing does arrive, it will only be after extensive consultation behind the scenes.

Asked how the process works in terms of signing a player, given he works alongside a director of football in Chris Beech, Murray outlined the collective approach behind bringing in new faces.

“It’s a process we go through with the coaching staff,” he said.

“Beechy and the analysts will highlight things but it’s ingredients (sought) rather than players.

“We will highlight certain specifics we need. We will put those into players who might have them and then we’ll see what we can do and what we can’t do.

“It might be a long process but we feel like we’re picking the right players.”