AFC Fylde sign Blackburn defender Lewis Thompson ahead of Solihull Moors clash as Jim Bentley prepares for a scrap

Taylor was injured in the midweek defeat by Notts County and Fylde boss Jim Bentley knows what he’s getting from his new man.

He said: “We look at all areas and after Tuesday we’re a little bit light at left-back, with Andy Taylor going down injured and Kyle Jameson also having a bit of a problem.

“Lewis is a young academy player, and you always wonder whether they can hack it mentally and physically. But speaking to the people at Blackburn, they rate him highly.

“We’ve seen him play. He had a loan move to FC United (of Manchester) last season.

“He ticks a lot of boxes for us. He’ll get up and down, he’s quite energetic, he’s got a good left foot and he’s quite robust.

“We’re hoping he can come in and produce the goods for us.

“We might need another one because we didn’t know what would happen with Andy Taylor. We knew about Kyle’s problem, so we were light there anyway.

“You were always running the risk of someone getting injured and then you’re down to the bare bones. As it is, that’s happened.

“We were exploring these avenues anyway, and with the amount of games we’ve got coming up you always run the risk.

“We’ve got a mammoth amount of games – all big games, cup finals, so we’ve got to make sure that we’ve got enough bodies in.

“We’ll try to make one or two more signings to add competition or if anyone is lacking form they can come out and someone can go in.

“It puts pressure on all areas. That’s what we’re looking to do.

“Lewis is in now and hopefully there will be one or two to follow.”

The Coasters remain second-bottom of the National League going into tomorrow’s home game against Solihull Moors but Bentley can call on his experience of such dangers.

A consistent survivor against the threat of relegation in his former post at Morecambe, he knows how to avoid the drop.

“We can only do what we can do,” he added. “We can recover the lads. We ask them to be as professional as possible, which they are.

“I can’t speak highly enough of them as a group of fellas – the way they go about their training, their morale and their spirit. But the results haven’t reflected that. We’re just coming up short.

“I don’t need to go through what’s happened. Tuesday’s game against Notts County was another example of exactly what’s been going on.

“I’ve been in loads of scraps – that was always the case at Morecambe. Sometimes you get angry, sometimes you get frustrated, sometimes you can see things.

“I remember the year we stayed up at Morecambe with the Coventry result – we never looked like scoring. It was always going to be a clean sheet that kept us up.

“That’s what we needed and that’s what we got on the day.

“I’ve known other times when we’re scoring loads and conceding loads.

“At the present moment, I look at Notts County and, with respect to everything they have at their disposal, I came away from the game scratching my head that we hadn’t taken something from it.

“People say you need to keep the ball out but you can’t legislate for mistakes.”