“We’re speaking to a hell of a lot of players”: Morecambe boss outlines what he wants from new faces

Five players are under contract, while Oscar Wright has been offered terms and negotiations are ongoing with another seven.

While fans face a waiting game before any signings are confirmed, Lakeland outlined what he wants to see from new faces at the Mazuma Mobile Stadium.

Speaking at a fans’ forum last Thursday, he said: “We want people coming through the door who want to win and who want to work hard for this club, because we’re not going to get out of this league by coasting, we have to be at it every game.

“I can’t guarantee we’re going to win every game but I can guarantee you’ll see players giving everything every game because we won’t stand for anything less than that.

“I think any football fan, at any level, all you expect to see is the players that wear your club’s badge work hard, put a shift in and give it their all.

“Even if you have bad days, you can still go away thinking ‘we had a bad day but they grafted’ and I don’t think you can really ask for anything more than that.

“For us to win the volume of games we’ll need to win to get out of this league, we’re going to need quality and goals and many things but it all starts with hard work and honesty and I think every team that we’ve built, that’s been evident in every single one.

“The recruitment is well underway, we’re speaking to a hell of a lot of players.

“I’ve met four different players today, I went down to London to meet a player yesterday, Sam’s (Walker, assistant manager) been speaking to numerous (players) as well, so we are working hard.

“You might not see a lot come out in the next couple of weeks, that’s quite common.

“A lot of players are still contracted to clubs until June 30, so just because the media feeds might be a little bit quiet on the incoming side, don’t think we’ve got feet up on the armchair because we’re grafting and we’re taking that time to make sure we get the right ones into this club.”