TOWN anticipate having to employ a bigger squad next season because of changes in the transfer system.

Tomorrow is likely to mark the last traditional transfer deadline day in English football.

From the end of this season, FIFA seem certain to impose transfer windows - exactly the same as those which operate in the Premiership - on Coca-Cola League clubs.

Town are against the measure, which would mean signings could only be made up to the end of August and then during the month of January - including loans.

"The whole of the Football League have fought vigorously against this since it was first mooted in 2001 and, until now, we have been able to hold it off - but it seems as though FIFA are now going to get their way," said chief executive Andrew Watson.

"It is 99.9% certain that transfer windows will be in operation for League clubs next season and it is hard to think of any positives in that system.

"FIFA argue that it helps to create stability, but Football League clubs need to buy and sell players to help keep themselves viable and, possibly in the case of another Wrexham, in existance."

Mr Watson believes it could have serious implications for smaller clubs and financial ones for every club in the three Coca-Cola divisions.

"If we are not allowed to sign players from September through to October then it may well mean we have to carry a couple of extra bodies in our squad to cover for injuries and suspensions, and that obviously adds to our costs," he explained.

"The trickiest position of all to cover, of course, is a goalkeeper. Most clubs now have two senior keepers and someone in the Academy, as we do with Paul Rachubka, Phil Senior and Jacob Giles.

"It would be quite easy for a club to get both their main keepers injured or suspended at the same time and, if they were unable to bring in a replacement, they would have a big problem.

"I believe the League are going to seek a compromise on goalkeepers whereby they can be loaned outside the transfer windows, but the ordinary month-long loans which we have been used to appear to be becoming a thing of the past.

"If a club wants to make a loan, our understanding is that it will have to be from one transfer window to the next, such as August to January, or January to the end of the season, but how that's quite going to work we're not sure."

Following a season in which Town have become feted for promoting youth players to the senior line-up, it could be that the club's Academy becomes even more important under the new system.

"We have worked hard to be in a position where we have a flourishing Academy which is already bearing fruit, and we might benefit even more from that in the future," added Mr Watson.

"Whereas some clubs don't even have a youth policy (Torquay, for instance), we will be able to draw on the ranks of our teenage players should the need arise, and that can only be a bonus if we got into a situation where a suitable signing couldn't be made.

"The manager, Peter Jackson, and myself will be putting in some work on this before the end of the season and deciding exactly what we need to do and what sort of squad size we need for next season."