Fit-again Shrewsbury Town striker Andy Cooke, who has scored twice in three games since his return from injury, welcomes the added competition the expected arrival of a new striker will bring.
Manager Gary Peters has made no secret of the fact he wants to pep up his front line options now that the transfer window has re-opened. But Cooke, delighted to be back after more than four months out, is in no mood to worry about the potential arrival of another striking rival.
“Any additions are good to bolster the squad and give the squad a lift,” said Cooke, who was stand-in skipper at Peterborough on New Year’s Day. “It’s that time of year and I welcome any additions.
“Any competition has never bothered me before and I welcome it because it’s good for the club and brings the best out of players.”
Peters has been linked with a number of targets, with sources in Accrington claiming Town are chasing Stanley’s leading scorer Paul Mullin who was on target against Shrewsbury just before Christmas.
Richard Walker, the man who scored twice for Bristol Rovers against Town in last season’s League Two play-off final at Wembley, and Kidderminster’s James Constable are among the other players to have been linked with the club.
Peters, as is his usual style, refused to discuss the identity of his targets, but did reveal he had missed out on Barnet’s Liam Hatch, who has joined Peterborough, and Blackpool’s Scott Vernon, who is now back in the Bloomfield Road first team.
“People know I do a lot of work, going and watching players, but any speculation is just that,” said Peters. “We don’t talk about things until they happen so you’ve just got to wait and see.
“Liam Hatch was on our list and I thought we might have done a deal in January. We would probably have spent £50,000 on him, but otherwise it’s pure speculation.”
Peters was quick to rubbish rumours linking midfielder Ben Davies with a move to Nottingham Forest – “it’s absolute nonsense, he’s going nowhere at all” – and said he was a definite starter for Saturday’s home game against Brentford.
He added skipper Stewart Drummond, also rested at Peterborough, would also return to the squad this weekend amid speculation linking him with a return to former club Morecambe.
“Ben will play on Saturday, absolutely certainly, and Drums will also be back in the squad along with Colin Murdock,” said Peters, keen that Town get back on track after back-to-back defeats.
“We’ve had 10 wins, four draws and 10 defeats so it’s a very mid-table season at the moment,” he reflected.
“We’ve got to do better than that and have to look at ways of making us better for the second half of the season.
“Only twice this season have I thought we’ve been outplayed and deserved nothing from games, and that was at MK Dons and Rotherham, and it was only a bit of naivety for five minutes that cost us a result at Peterborough.”
Cooke, meanwhile, insisted there was plenty more to come from him as he closes in on full fitness following his long term injury lay-off.
“There’s still a lot of hard work to do and I’m nowhere near as fit as I can be and want to be,” he said. “It’s all about building on what I’m doing.
“The gaffer’s been great with me. I had been back training for two or three weeks and played an hour in a behind closed doors game and another 45 minutes in the reserves before the Stockport game on Boxing Day.
“He wouldn’t have put me in that position if I wasn’t right and he would rather start me in games than bring me on as a sub.”
Cooke, disappointed Town emerged empty handed after he fired them in front at Peterborough, stressed it was important they bounced back against Brentford.
“Every game’s massive now,” he said. “Wycombe last Saturday was a big game, so was Peterborough, and now it just keeps snowballing on to must-win games.”
Midfielder David Hunt is a non-starter on Saturday owing to a one-match ban.