On new boys
We have brought 3 players in and they are all very good football players. They are tried and tested and at a good age. They can kick in on in our environment there is no question about that. You are always wrestling with what you want most out of a player. Do you want ability or 100% endeavour? If you can marry the two throughout the squad you have a great proposition. We feel as though we can get the best out of players with respect to their endeavour and can still develop them as players. We motivate them to get the best out of them physically and mentally and our training programme enables us to do that because there are no grey areas. 

On the search for a striker
We are making progress but you also have to consider the strikers that we have at the club. I include Kallum Higginbotham in that, Will Buckley, Chris Dagnall, Adam Le Fondre and Lee Thorpe. We are not struggling in that department because I do feel that eventually Kallums best postion will be as a striker. He had a great season being protected out on the wing and played a few games down the middle doing exceptionally well. I am expecting a similar sort of season from Will Buckley- I want him to develop and I want to give him an opportunity as we all feel that he has a lot of potential. Joe Thompson will also come into the frame because he has matured well . Physically and condition wise he is awesome and I think he will get an opportunity as well.
With respect to making a further signing we are definitely competing with other clubs to get a signature and we have been all summer long but everything happens for a reason. We are in a strong position with respect to the squad that we have at our disposal.   

On the rumours regarding Dave Perkins
David is one of the best players in the 2nd division so there were always going to be rumours about him. He has been and still is a credit to this football club. He is an awesome player and it does not suprise me that he has been attracting the attention of other clubs. I will also say that he is going into the final year of his contract. He is a very good player who was given his opportunity by Rochdale Football Club and has flourished in this environment. He has had a lot of time to catch up on and I know him very well and he is very ambitious. At this moment in time he is a Rochdale player and unless that changes he is training with us tomorrow.

On the players returning to training
It hasnt been a long summer but we are all looking forward to getting back together. I have had a load of messages from the players regarding how they can't wait to get back. They are enthusiastic about the season and want to build on what they achieved. Collectively we will and there is nothing to really fear in the league this season. We are anticipating a really good season and there should not be so much doom and gloom. This club is trying its best to keep progressing and though it is getting harder we will keep going. We can't do anything to quell the expectation levels and we don't want to. We want everyone to be happy about our ambitions but we have to temper that with some realism. Our aim is to improve on what we did last season. From my point of view that is realistic and I will not stop in my endeavours to do so. 

On the sad news regarding Ernie Cooksey
It is a sad story and life is cruel which is why you have to make the most of it. Ernie was a colleague and a friend and he eptomised eveything that we are searching for with respect to our players endeavour and zest for life. You shouldn't waste any moment of your life or your career. It is such a sad loss from a footballing and personal aspect and it gives me more motivation to fulfill my lifes ambitions because unfortunately Ernies were cut short and for me that is so hard to deal with with respect to knowing the many qualities that he had. It is a sad and severe loss and just hope that we can reflect in our endeavours this season exactly what he was all about.