Bully to sign more for Rangers
Stafford manager Steve Bull hopes to add to the signing of Stoke attacker Marc Grocott before his side go to Stalybridge in the Blue Square North on Saturday.
Stafford manager Steve Bull hopes to add to the signing of Stoke attacker Marc Grocott before his side go to Stalybridge in the Blue Square North on Saturday.
The Potters youngster will rubber stamp a one-month loan deal from the Britannia Stadium tonight, becoming the third player from the Premier League side to don the white and black of Stafford this season, after the recently departed Tom Thorley and current first-teamer Jimmy Phillips.
Bully will not be stopping there, as he hopes to bring in an unattached midfielder and another loan player from the Football League, an out-and-out striker.
He said: "I am hoping to have the other two sorted by the time we finish training tonight. I need players who can bomb forward and give us that bit of extra momentum in attack. I am bringing these players in with that in mind.
"Defensively we are fine, we are tight at the back and keeping clean sheets. The new boys should really shake things up and hopefully we can start taking our chances then. The current squad are fine with that, as it has always been our intention to add to the squad.
"Competition for places is healthy and what I want."
Bully is refuting suggestions that Grocott has been brought in as a direct replacement for Thorley, who left this week, seeing the new addition as more of an attacking player, while the former was mainly used in a defensive role.
The Rangers boss said: "Mark is not really a like-for-like with Tom, as he is a player who support the strikers a lot more and will bomb forward when given the chance. He is an ideal player to play behind the forwards, so he gives us another dimension we can use. He is a natural goalscorer.
"I trust the judgement of George Foster at Stoke, who sent us Thorley and Phillips. They both did very well for this football club. Anybody who has seen either play will expect Grocott to be of the same quality and I am confident he will be.
"These players have been brought up the right way at Stoke and it is clear to see."
The Stafford manager also moved to assure the Rangers faithful that, despite the addition of three players to a squad already stretched, the playing budget at Marston Road will not be exceeded whoever comes in.
Bull said: "There is no need to worry about that, because we are still well within budget even if we bring in all three players. The money freed up by the departures of Nick Wellecomme and Ishamel Reid has left us that little bit of room to bring players in.
"I wouldn't take in the players if I think we could sustain it."
