Parkinson believes he almost has the squad depth he wants
Phil Parkinson says his squad is nearly complete after the arrival of Danny Graham.
Graham was on the scoresheet within minutes of his introduction for his second debut, scoring the sixth goal of an emphatic 8-1 rout over Aston Villa U21s on Tuesday evening.
Parkinson says Graham produced some‘ terrific’ moments in his cameo, and believes he nearly has the squad depth he wants.
He is working towards one further signing, with more competition and cover at left back required.
Denver Hume is currently the club’s only natural fullback on the left side, though Jack Diamond did play that role in pre-season.
Lyn den Goochfil led in that position on Tuesday night, with Diamond deputising for the suspended Luke O’Nien on the right.
The club is also exploring the possibility of adding talented youngsters, who will not count towards the new salary cap ruling.
They have submitted a bid of around £500,000 for Argentinian striker Mateo Bajamich, but face competition from Houston Dynamo in the MLS and speaking after the EFL Trophy win, Parkinson said there had been no further developments since the weekend.
“With the numbers we have in the squad, we're pretty close," Parkinson said.
“I' m very pleased with
getting Danny in.
“He's a front-foot player who wants to score and as you saw, his link-up play is great.
“Some of his build-up play was terrific as well.
“So I'm pleased with that addition and he' ll go be a good role models for our younger players, he's a good trainer and a good professional.
“We' re getting there, another one would be great for us in the next week or so and we're working towards making the right addition to compliment what we've got.”
Park in son hailed his fringe players for their professionalism in the win, with a number of players who missed out on selection at the weekend producing impressive displays.
"I'm pleased with the night's work,” he said.
“It was always about getting minutes forth el ads who needed it, sprinkled with the youngsters.
“The game was played at a decent pace and we had to earn the right to play.
“I'm very pleased with the professionalism showed by the lads.”
The win marked an impressive start to the club’s trophy campaign.
The competition is comfortably secondary to the league in terms of the club’s priorities for the season, but with a number of young players breaking through and pushing for contention, Parkinson believes it is a competition in which he should still be able to field a strong side and push for results.
“We took tonight as an important match in our preparation[ for these ason]," he said.
"We're trying to build a squad that can cope with the demands of the season which is a month shorter and where the games come thick and fast.
“We should have a squad that means we can do well in this competition.”