Cobblers boss Page continues pursuit of striker to complete squad

STILL LOOKING - Cobblers boss Rob Page is keen to add another striker to his squad

The Town manager has signed 12 new faces since taking over the hot seat in mid-May, and the Cobblers squad is now a very healthy 25-strong if you include back-up goalkeeper Paddy Kenny.

But the Welshman says he is still keen on adding to the club’s attacking strength, with the centre forward options at the moment being limited to skipper Marc Richards, Alex Revell and Sam Hoskins.

“I have made it quite clear that I want another centre forward in the building,” said Page, who is preparing his team for their trip to Oldham Athletic in Sky Bet League One on Tuesday night.

“We are working extremely hard to get the player in, so we will update when there is news.

“But until there is any news on that, we go with what we have got at the minute and we focus on winning games of football.”

Meanwhile, the Cobblers are set to organise a behind-closed-doors friendly at Moulton College on Wednesday so that the players in the squad that are not featuring regularly on match-day can get some game time.

Page has named the same starting XI for the past two games, and has already stated that he is keen to maintain a consistency of selection at this stage of the season.

That means there are plenty of players yet to feature for the first team, with the likes of Lawson D’Ath, Rod McDonald and Jason Taylor not even making the matchday squad for Saturday’s trip to Charlton.

There are also those who missed large chunks of pre-season that are now nearing fitness, players such as Brendan Moloney, Jak McCourt and Raheem Hanley, and Page is keen for them all to get some minutes under their belt.

“We are trying to organise a game on Wednesday, even if it is a behind-closed-doors friendly, so that people like Brendan (Moloney), Jak McCourt, and maybe Raheem (Hanley) can play in,” said the Cobblers boss.

“It is about getting these lads a game to be able to give them the minutes for that match fitness and then we will have everybody back and eligible for the following Saturday.”