Fleetwood Town still looking to strengthen

Fleetwood Town boss Graham Alexander has given the strongest hint yet he might not be done with summer transfers.
Graham Alexander and Chris Lucketti take trainingGraham Alexander and Chris Lucketti take training
Graham Alexander and Chris Lucketti take training

Town have added three new faces to their squad – defender Danny Andrew from Macclesfield Town, striker Jamie Proctor from Crawley Town and experienced former Blackpool and Huddersfield midfielder Keith Southern.

They are yet to spend a penny in the transfer market, leading to speculation the club is looking to make a landmark signing before their debut League One campaign kicks off on August 9.

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Alexander told The Gazette he’s still on the lookout to improve his team.

He said: “There’s nothing coming up right now, nothing happening at the moment.

“But we still think we need one or two. Maybe not even two, just the one.

“We need to just bolster the squad because it will be a long season and a tough one.

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“But I always want to protect the quality and the numbers in the squad. We won’t keep players just for the sake of it. We want competition.

“At this stage, like every other club we’re looking to see if we can improve.

“But we’ve got full confidence in the squad we have at the moment.

“If somebody comes along who might give us that extra five or 10 per cent we’ll do everything to make that happen.”

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Alexander didn’t elaborate on the position he believed Town most needed to strengthen.

However, the Fleetwood boss still remains short of strike options, despite the capture of former Preston frontman Proctor.

Jon Parkin left the club in the close season and Alexander has only David Ball and Jamille Matt to call on, unless he turns to Jamie Allen.

There are doubts too down the left hand side.

Jeff Hughes is still recovering from the broken leg which kept him out of action for the second half of last season.

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Josh Morris has returned to Blackburn Rovers following his loan spell .

However the Fleetwood squad takes shape, Alexander’s League One new boys are set for their first test this Thursday when they travel to Colwyn Bay for their opening friendly.

Fleetwood then head to Austria for their pre-season training camp at the weekend.

Alexander insists the match against the Welshmen from Conference North is a key part of the early preparations.

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He said: “I found as a player it’s tough coming into pre-season without a game.

“It’s the games the players love. We got in a really early fixture last year with Northwich Victoria.

“We’ll be doing the same this year. We use it as part of the training.

“There’s no recovery before or after. It’s part of the training session but it’s a competitive game.

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“It gets them back into the habit of getting the kit on, the shinpads and everything.

“It gives them something to look forward to early on but each player will only play 45 minutes maximum.

“It’s a good chance for the new lads to play with their new team-mates and for us to get a look at them.”

Town’s pre-season continues on their return from Austria with games against Skelmersdale United, Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Partick Thistle.

The season kicks off in earnest on August 9, when Crewe Alexandra visit Highbury in Sky Bet League One.