TOWN manager Peter Jackson was planning to talk with Delroy Facey and his advisers today about a permanent move to the Galpharm.
The 24-year-old striker was a target for Oldham before Saturday's 5-3 win against Stockport, but he opted to stay with Town and the Boundary Park club instead snapped up Luke Beckett.
The Sheffield United striker who scored six in seven matches for Town notched on his Oldham debut in the 2-2 draw against leaders Luton, while Facey was taken off in front of 11,180 at the Galpharm.
Jackson explained: "I got a call from Delroy's agent late on Thursday night to say it looked like he would be signing permanently for Oldham.
"Delroy was their No1 target and they were making him a very good offer so, on the strength of that, I made a call to Neil Warnock to ask about getting Luke back here on loan if Delroy signed for Oldham.
"When I spoke to Delroy on Friday morning, however, he made it very clear he did not want to go to Oldham and wanted to stay here, which I'm very happy about.
"Delroy would be the first to admit that, by his own standards, he didn't have the best of games on Saturday, but I've been so delighted with his contribution to the club as a whole since he came here and we will talk about it becoming permanent."
On Beckett, Jackson added: "Having lost out on Delroy, Oldham went later on Friday for Luke, paid a loan fee for him - something which we didn't - and are apparently now in a position to offer him something permanent.
"As we all know, Luke did a great job for us and I did inquire about him coming back on loan, but we can't afford a fee for him, we can't afford his wages and he is completely out of our equation for a permanent deal."
Jackson welcomes back skipper Jon Worthington and left-back Tom Clarke against Hartlepool after suspension (Efe Sodje is still ruled out) and he has called for more of the fighting spirit which eventually overcame Warren Feeney's hat trick for Stockport.
"The lads showed a lot of character because, at 3-2 down, I wanted a big response from them and they gave it," he said.
"While Boothy, Pav and Mirf all took their goals well, I was thrilled for Adnan to score because he's been working so hard since he broke into the team and he will certainly be offered a new contract.
"I was also pleased for Junior Mendes when he went on and I got a good response from Lee Fowler, who showed me that hopefully he can have a future at this football club.
"We are looking to the Hartlepool game now with a lot of confidence. One more win should be enough to see us safe and we'll be going for it.
"We had our problems on Saturday and we know all about them, but full marks to the lads for fighting back."
