Pat Rayment wants to add more young blood to his Spalding United squad after releasing experienced duo Peter Bore and Ash Burbeary this week.
The Tulips chief confirmed on Tuesday that forward Burbeary and right back Bore had been told they were no longer required at the Sir Halley Stewart Playing Field.
Both started Saturday’s FA Cup loss at Norton United, but Burbeary’s long distance travelling each week and Bore’s work commitments are being cited as the main reasons for the departures.
Rayment has made seven-day notices of approach for two targets in the wake of their departure, with both targets considered “young and hungry” by the boss.
He’s hoping to get both deals done before Saturday’s Evo-Stik League First Division South trip to Sheffield FC (3pm), who are three points behind them in the table – but have won three of their four home games so far.
“People from the outside will probably see this as a knee-jerk reaction,” said the Spalding supremo. “They’d be wrong.
“Ash travels a long way for each game and was one of the top earners at the club. It’s a tough call, but that’s what I’m here for.
“He’s got very good pedigree, but sometimes you have to make a change.
“Peter’s work commitments are the main reason we’ve let him go. He’s a great lad, but it’s probably the best move for both parties.
“We’ve got two transfer targets in mind. Both are young, hungry and have great energy levels.
“We’ve got a lot of experienced heads here, but sometimes you need that injection of youth to freshen things up.
“The club have been very good to me, we’ve actually been working a bit over budget this season thanks to our run in the FA Cup.
“Now we’re out, we’ll be looking to balance the books a bit better and are searching for a bit more value for our money.”
Away from his transfer targets, Rayment is searching for a response from his side after rating them at only 3/10 in Saturday’s disappointing defeat at Norton.
He feels that his side let the club down in Staffordshire and admits that he didn’t see the performance coming – especially considering the Tulips romped to a 6-0 success at (then) leaders Loughborough Dynamo the previous Tuesday.
Sheffield – the world’s oldest football club – will offer a real test of their mettle at The BT Local Stadium, but Rayment is demanding a performance.
He added: “The players know that I was far from happy with them. I told them that they let the football club down badly.
“I expect a certain level of performance from my players – and I simply didn’t get it last week.”
Striker Ryan Oliver returns after being cup tied, but right back Luke Thurlbourne isn’t expected to return for around a month.
