Strikers top Gee's wish list

Rainworth Miners Welfare manager Kevin Gee is looking to boost his squad ahead of Saturday’s trip to promotion chasing King's Lynn Town, writes Gordon Foster.

Gee played four newcomers in Saturday's Evo-Stik Northern Premier League First Division South 0-0 draw at Newcastle Town. Despite believing all four did well, the Wrens manager is keen to add a couple of strikers into the mix in a bid to inject a touch of sharpness at the front end.

He said: "Even at this stage I feel that, if we were in a position to afford any of the strikers who are currently fighting for a play off place, I would be confident that we could still go on a run to the end of the season and maybe finish in the top eight.

"But you have to make sure that you don't allow players to use that as an excuse for not winning games. So with the Chairman's backing we are now looking to bring in two strikers this week to try and turn our solid based foundations into winning positions in our remaining 14 matches and finish the season as strongly as we started it."

Goalkeeper Scott Low from Ilkeston, midfielder Jonathan Williams from Gainsborough Trinity, and former Grantham duo, defender Sam Purcicoe and utility attacker Jermain Hollis, all made their debuts at the Aspire Stadium on Saturday. Williams and Purcicoe are on loan for a month, while Hollis rejoins for his fourth spell at Kirklington Road.

Gee praised them all and another relatively new signing, Ashley Kitchen. He said; "I thought Ashley was outstanding on Saturday but by his own admission its took him four to five weeks to reach a level of fitness that is required to fulfil that potential, which I find amazing at this level, but it is happening on a regular basis with new recruits.

"The four new signings that came in on Saturday all did really well but again, as with the Kitchen situation, you know that they will improve significantly over the next four weeks once their fitness levels are increased, and all will prove valuable additions to the group."

Rainworth take a break from league action on Tuesday night with a tough trip to Newark Town in the Notts Senior Cup. Despite the hosts playing three steps down from Rainworth in the Central Midlands League, Gee is not taking the tie lightly, and neither is he likely to be tempted to send a weakened side to Station Road.

Looking ahead to the Third Round fixture, he added: "From information received we know that they are a very good side who are physically strong, so we must first and foremost compete with them to earn the right to play. But I know how important this competition is to the committee and the chairman, so I will be taking a fairly strong first team rather than resting a few, and try to progress to the quarter-finals."