Shaymen on the verge of completing five new signings, says boss Lakeland

The Halifax manager told the Courier earlier this week that a quartet of new additions were being lined up.

But since then, a fifth has been added to the list, and all five deals are almost sealed.

"They're pretty much all done now," he said.

"As soon as the ink's dry on the paper then we'll be in a position where we can start announcing them."

When asked if he expect any more new signings before the club begins pre-seeason training on Monday, Lakeland said: "Hopefully yeah, we've got offers out to several other players and we're waiting to hear back from a few.

"We've got other positions we need to bring bodies in for.

"We're still assessing our options and we're doing everything we can to get it right.

"There'll be a few we need to be patient on because there's lads who we've expressed interest in but who've also got interest from higher up the pyramid or clubs from our division who've got bigger financial power than us.

"So we might have to be patient and it woudn't surprise me if we continue to do business throughout the duration of pre-season.

"But it was important we got a few bodies over the line before we came back in on Monday, but we'll constantly be looking to strengthen because I still feel we've got a little bit of that to do."

Lakeland said there are offers out for "several" players on their list of potential targets.

"Sometimes you might need a player for one specific position because you can't throw all your eggs in one basket so you're in negotiations with agents and players for several players for one position, just in case Plan A and Plan B don't come off, you've got to have Plan C and Plan D up your sleeve," he said.

"We're talking to people non-stop, daily, to try and move things along but we might need to be a bit patient on a few and we'll constantly be looking to bring the right people into the football club but some will happen quicker than others."

The Town boss says he is confident he'll have the squad in place he wants by the start of the season.

"We've got to be patient and I'm looking forward to getting in on Monday and I can start to learn more about the players who are already at the club and see what they'll give us as players and characters," he said.

"You've always go to be looking, as a football club, to improve, which we are.

"But I'm confident that, come the opening day, we'll have a team that will be able to be competitive."

The Town squad were at Huddersfield University on Tuesday and Wednesday for two testing days to assess their fitness.

"The lads all came back in good spirits," Lakeland said, "showed a good attitude and we got out of the days what we needed to.

"Everybody's looking forward to being back in now on Monday."

The Courier understands Halifax expressed an interest in signing former loanee Scott High on a permanent deal, but were unable to compete with his offer from League Two side Barnet.

It is also understood that The Shaymen have been in contact with another former loanee, Luca Thomas, and will be monitoring developments over his immediate future.