BOSS Peter Jackson gave his Town squad today off in a bid to prevent the spread of the virus which robbed him of three players on Saturday.

Pawel Abbott, Town's 17-goal top scorer, and fellow forwards Junior Mendes and Andy Booth, who was already a doubt because of his failure to prove his full fitness after an ankle injury, all arrived at the Galpharm feeling ill, and were sent home.

John McAliskey, who made his fifth successive frontline start alongside full League debutant Akpo Sodje, was also below-par according to the manager.

"The lads reported in at lunchtime saying they felt unwell, so it was disrupting to say the least," explained Jackson, who is confident Akpo Sodje will recover from the blow to the ribs which forced his substitution after 65 minutes.

"Losing both Pav and Junior Mendes, who was the most obvious man to come in for him, put a real spanner in the works.

We were forced to alter some of the plans we'd made for the match, and any side would miss a man who has scored 17 goals this season.

"Given the late notice, I was very pleased with the way Akpo played, and he was unlucky not to score when he got into a great position for a first-half header."

Jackson was today continuing his bid to bring in new faces, reporting: "I've got a specific player in mind, and we'll be trying to do a deal."