Yeovil Town manager Chris Hargreaves has had “a little bit of success” in his search to bring new players to the club ahead of Saturday’s visit from title favourites Wrexham.
The Glovers’ boss said he was keen to add to his squad after the opening game defeat at Scunthorpe United last weekend and said he was “still hopeful” of being able to add to the squad.
Asked whether he thought he could bolster his options by the weekend, Hargreaves said: “Maybe. We are still in discussions, we have a couple of players in the building at the moment that we are having a look at.
“We are still hopeful of (bringing new players in) but regardless of that situation we have got enough to focus on the game.”
He added it was a “a challenge logistically and financially” to bring players to the club, suggesting that budget constraints and the club’s geography was working against his attempts to bring in fresh blood.
He said: “We have had a little bit of success this week with some players we have spoken to and I have a couple of players in the building that have done well, so the situation could change.
“But if it doesn’t, the players we have are more than capable of getting a result and creating chances, which is what they showed most of the second half on Saturday.”
The description of “having a look” at a few players would suggest that those he was talking about are either free agents or players looking for a loan move.
Yeovil presently have four of the five loan spots they can field in a matchday squad in the form of goalkeeper Will Buse, midfielders Sam Perry and Sam Pearson and striker Matt Grivosti.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.
The manager admitted that the exit of star player Tom Knowles just 48 hours before the trip to recently-relegated Scunthorpe did lead to him having to redraw his tactics.
The forward left for League Two Walsall in a move announced on the Thursday evening ahead of the trip to North Lincolnshire.
The boss said: “It is disappointing on a Thursday when you have to change a game plan and personnel in a limited about of time and it was a challenge for me, I don’t deny it.
“The player showed his intentions to go, we offered him as much as we could at this time and the club accepted the money we were offered.
“He goes with our best wishes, but I can’t think about that any more. We quickly have to find another Tom Knowles – either create one, loan one or sign one from somewhere.
“It’s a big challenge because he was a good player and those players are hard to replace.”
It seems likely the Glovers will be without a fully fit squad for the visit of Wrexham with “a couple” of players still being monitored.
Hargreaves said: “There’s still a couple that we are monitoring. We had a good number training this morning (Thursday) but we are still looking at a couple of players.
“There’s probably a decision to make today on whether one or two players train today with a view to (playing) at the weekend, but there’s still enough chomping at the bit to be in the team.”
Playmaker Lawson D’Ath did not make the squad last weekend whilst defender Chiori Johnson remained on the bench