Gray: Cobblers need centre-half and another striker

Published on Friday 3 July 2009 22:15

Stuart Grays says Northampton Town are currently not in a position to offer his top transfer targets the contracts they are demanding.

But the Cobblers boss feels such players will be more likely to come to Sixfields as the summer progresses, and the harsh reality of the current financial climate in the game takes hold.

Gray is working with a budget which has been cut in the wake of the club's relegation to Coca-Cola League Two.

He has a list of targets, and his current priority is to sign at least one more striker and one more central defender.

Bringing in either has proved difficult so far, although Gray has managed to secure the services of Steve Guinan up front and Craig Hinton and Dean Beckwith at the back.

As far as other new faces are concerned, though, he will be forced to play a waiting game over the next few weeks.

"I don't think we've got enough centre-halves yet," he said. "In an ideal scenario you'd have two players for every position but that definitely won't be the case this season.

"We definitely need another striker and it's all down to what we can afford. I've spoken to two or three players and we can't match the terms they want to come and play here.

"That's true not just at this football club but at most of them, we might have to look at bringing people in slightly later in the season. If Paul Rodgers can prove his fitness then he could be our right-back for the season."

Beckwith will come in to partner Hinton as part of a new-look heart to the Cobblers defence next term, and is potentially a like-for-like replacement for Mark Hughes, who has left the club.

"They (Hughes and Beckwith) are very similar players," said Gray. "Dean is probably more dominant in the air, he's a little taller than Mark at six foot three. He attacks the ball very well and that was one of the key reasons for bringing him in."

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Gray: Cobblers need centre-half and another striker

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