LEE CLARK, like almost every manager, is far from a fan of the transfer window.
But the Town boss is pleased with the six players he has brought in, with three of the deals being completed in the final five hours before last Monday’s deadline.
Strikers Jonathan Tehoue, Lukas Jutkiewicz and Lee Novak were added to a list of incomers which already included two other attacking players, Anthony Pilkington and Lionel Ainsworth, and just the one defender, Dominik Werling.
And Clark made clear his feelings on the need for new frontline options in the wake of Tuesday’s disappointing 1-1 League I home draw with Hartlepool, when he said: “It’s plain to see we’re lacking firepower. It’s not an accident we’re the only side in the top 10 with a minus goal difference.
“It’s come about through missing chances rather than shipping goals, and we have to improve things.”
Long-term project Novak won’t come into the equation as Town aim to mark their centenary season by winning promotion to the Championship.
The free-scoring 20-year former Gretna and Newcastle Blue Star player will remain at current club Gateshead, who are pushing for a place in the Blue Square Premier, before joining up with Town, with whom he is contracted to 2012, in the close-season.
By that time, both 24-year-old Frenchman Tehoue and Jutkiewicz, the Southampton-born 19-year-old who has joined on loan from Everton, could have departed the Galpharm.
But no-one will be complaining if they have supplied the goals to spearhead a promotion push.
The bulk of Town’s 48 in all competitions so far this season have come from midfielders, with Gary Roberts, who has now completed his three-match suspension, leading the way with eight, Michael Collins weighing in with seven, Ian Craney scoring six and the currently out-of-favour Michael Flynn five.
Of the strikers, only Liam Dickinson, who is now likely to switch from Derby to Leeds when the loan window reopens on Monday and could face Town at the Galpharm a week today, has come up with the goods in terms of goals, his six in nine matches an impressive tally.
Dickinson, brought in by Clark’s predecessor Stan Ternent, offered height, a decent touch and something that little bit different, and the current manager believes Tehoue and Jutkiewicz will do the same.
He’s certainly done his homework on all the new men, with his trips to scout Jutkiewicz and Novak taking him from Widnes, where Everton play their home reserve matches, to Workington, where Gateshead were recently in action.
Meanwhile viewing DVDs of matches involving Tehoue, who has played club football in his homeland, Cyprus, Belgium and most recently Turkey, led to a three-week trial during which he scored in a private practice match at Doncaster.
Born in Paris of Ivorian parents, Tehoue started his senior career at Caen, and has played top-flight football for Bastia, Cypriots APOEL Nicosia, FC Brussels (formerly RWD Molenbeek) and Turkish pair Kasimpasa, of Istanbul, and Konyaspor, from the capital city of Ankara.
He bagged nine goals in 41 appearances for the two clubs, and Clark believes Tehoue, right, who has signed a deal to the end of the season, can continue to hit the net for Town.
“He’s a strong player, a bit different to what we already have in terms of physical presence,” explained the manager.
“He’s competitive, he has a good touch and change of pace, and when he gets in the box, he hits the target on a regular basis.”
Despite his tender years, Jutkiewicz has already played football in all four divisions.
Snapped up by Swindon after being released by Southampton at 14, he was in the first team within three years, with his fifth appearance the goalless League I draw with Town at the County Ground on the final day of the 2005-06 season, when the Robins were relegated.
His form the following campaign, when Swindon won promotion from League II, brought a £1 move to Everton in the March, although Poland Under 21 international Jutkiewicz completed the season at Swindon.
Last season, he scored four times for Everton reserves and also had a loan stint at Championship Plymouth, and this time, featured in a string of pre-season friendlies and bagged four more reserve goals before making his first-team debut as a substitute in the 3-0 Premier League home win over Sunderland in December.
“He’s a big lad, so is a danger aerially, but he also has good movement and decent control, and I know he’s very highly rated by (Everton manager) David Moyes,” said Clark.
