Northampton Saints: Mallinder chasing signings
Saints latest news
JIM MALLINDER has reassured Saints fans the club is working hard to bring in new players after the latest departure was announced yesterday.
Munster confirmed the signing of James Downey on a two-year contract and the exit of the 30-year-old follows the news that Roger Wilson and Chris Ashton are leaving at the end of the season.
Downey has become a stalwart of the Saints side since signing from Italian outfit Calvisano in 2007, making 135 appearances for the club. And more players have been linked with moves with Paul Diggin, Scott Armstrong and Jon Clarke reportedly attracting interest from Worcester.
Mallinder says he is working on replacing those players, though with 10 players in the England set-up he is treading carefully.
Mallinder said: “We still have a number of players out of contract, there are things going on behind the scenes and in time you will find out what they are.”
Downey is likely to play a part in tomorrow’s LV= Cup clash against Wasps, which Saints need to win to secure a semi-final place. And with Saints out of Europe, Mallinder is eager to stay in the competition that offers the winners a route into the Heineken Cup.
“We started the tournament well with two bonus-point wins and we wanted to qualify,” said Mallinder. “We don’t want any weeks off, we want our holidays to be in the summer. We have to win at the weekend.
“We have not performed well over the last couple of games and conceded too many points. It is a perfect opportunity for us as we will have a few players back this week. Calum Clark is back for us and we will have a few players back that we rested last week.”
Clark will captain the Saints side tomorrow after being released by England ahead of their Calcutta Cup clash.
He will want to prove England wrong, though Mallinder says the workaholic doesn’t need any extra motivation.
“Calum will be really keen to come back to play and to make sure he is match fit and show what he can do,” said Mallinder. “We know he is in the England 32 and can’t be a long way off being selected for the 22 for England.
“It is a massive boost for us to get Calum back. He wants to play every single week, it is great for us that he has come back to lead the side.”
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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