Alexander wants more squad depth

Town have had limited success in their summer recruitment so far.

The initial strategy was to target promising young talent, with Scottish striker Declan McManus among the early captures.

But the Town boss, who released 17 players in May, is conscious of the need to replace lost experience at Highbury and subsequently signed midfielders Jimmy Ryan and Eggert Jonsson.

Alexander has just two and a half weeks to complete his summer rebuild before the start of the League One campaign at home to Southen.

And while the manager believes Town are close to having the squad he wants, the former Preston defender knows more competition is needed within his group.

He told The Gazette: “We’d be happy to go into the season with the squad we have now. “I think we’ve got what we need to compete again but we’re still looking to bring bodies in.

“There are positions in which we believe we need a little more depth and we’d like a little more competition for places.

“There’s going to be a different feel to the squad this season, but we’re still going out there to win and to do as well as we can.”

Alexander’s hands have been tied in the transfer market by a strict wage cap as Fleetwood look to break even in the coming year.

Town are also constrained by Financial Fair Play rules – their reduced wage bill meaning some targets have chosen to play elsewhere.

Alexander admitted: “There have been one or two we’ve been chasing who have decided to go to other clubs.

“You always have your targets and some of them you don’t get.

“Sometimes it’s been down to the money, sometimes it’s been down to other matters.

“But we’ve got the wage structure in place and we have a profile of the type of player we want. Everything has to be right for a deal to go through.”