Manager looks ahead to Saturday's visit
Graham Alexander has added more firepower to his armoury ahead of Mansfield Town’s visit on Saturday – and wants a response to last week’s defeat at Northampton.
The Cod Army fell to an unfortunate 1-0 defeat at Sixfields Stadium last weekend, with David Ball also being forced off through injury before half-time against the Cobblers.
Ball joins fellow striker Jamille Matt in the treatment room as a result, so Alexander has brought in both Nathan Tyson and Terrier Carr to beef-up his options against the Stags.
“The lads who have come in (Tyson, Dieseruvwe and Carr) have settled really quickly, and I’m looking forward to seeing them playing in the next few weeks,” said Alexander.
“The two young lads (Dieseruvwer and Carr) came with good recommendation, while Nathan (Tyson) has got vast experience at Championship level and we’re very pleased to get him on-board.
“Obviously we’re disappointed from the result last week. The performance was ok and the lads’ attitude and approach was great. We were unfortunate not to win.
“We’ll try and put that right now, and get our performance levels to the way it has been for the last month or so. Saturday will be a very tough game because Mansfield are a competitive team, but the lads are in good spirit.”
Tyson and Carr will compete with Emmanuel Dieseruvwe and Jon Parkin for a starting shirt, and Alexander felt bringing in both strikers was vital with games against Accrington Stanley and Oxford United following shortly.
“With the injury to Jamille (Matt) and David Ball falling so soon, we’ve had to strengthen in the striker department,” Alexander said. “It’s a busy period for us with a lot of games in quick succession. We just thought it would be prudent to strengthen the front line.
“They’re three big games and we’re looking for as many points as possible before the two cups games. For now, though, we’re focusing on Mansfield on Saturday.
“We’ve got four strikers in the squad at the moment, and it’s good to add a couple of new faces to freshen it up and keep everyone ticking along.
“I like to keep as small a squad a possible to make sure everyone’s involved. We’ve brought in two experienced strikers to add a bit of a mixture to what we’ve got.
We’ve got lads who can play in the hole and lads who can run in behind.
“I think Ball will be back with us before the loan spells of the strikers end, but I’m not sure if Jamille will. We know we’ve got enough quality throughout the rest of the team to carry the burden of scoring goals, as the midfield has shown.”
Alexander was also delighted to welcome defender Stephen Jordan back to training this week, after the 31-year-old’s eight-week lay-off through injury.
“(Jordan) has been training with us now for a full week, though, and he’s looking good,” said Alexander. “It’s good to add him back into the squad.
“He was unfortunate to pick up the injury in training, and his recovery has probably been longer than we all first imagined.”