Archived News from April 2005
|
PALMER PRESSES RUNDLE AND COKE TO SIGN
|
 |
|
Palmer presses teenage pair to sign
CHAD wesbite, 07 April 2005 CARLTON Palmer is hoping for a double boost as Stags head south to take on stuttering promotion hopefuls Yeovil Town on Saturday (3pm). Palmer is hoping to get the signatures of hot teenage prospects Adam Rundle and Giles Coke tied up before the weekend before they are stolen away by other clubs. Winger Rundle, in particular, has attracted a lot of interest from other clubs for a string of exciting performances and Palmer said: "I want to get them both signed up until the end of next season with an option for another year. "Both were offered deals quite a while ago but things have been hectic and nothing has been signed. Now I want to get them sorted. "I have no worries at all about Giles Coke and I am 100 per cent sure he will sign. "I also believe Adam will sign . I know the lad has said he is very happy to stay here, but there is an agent involved and other clubs interested. "I got a letter from Adam begging me to give him an oppoitunity to get back into English football which I did and I will be calling on him for a bit of loyalty back. "I would be very disappointed if we did hit a problem with Adam as he and Giles are a must for next season. They have the required desire and can only get better." Palmer is also planning to sit down and thrash out a deal with Paul Warne early next week. The Rotherham midfielder impressed during a recent loan spell at Field Mill and Palmer said: "Paul has made it quite clear he wants to sign for Mansfield Town and myself. "I have made no secret of the fact that I want him here. So we will have a talk and see if we can't tie a deal up. "I also want to sit down with Kevin Pilkington as soon as possible and start negotiations." Defender Adam Eaton is to have an operation on 11th April which it is hoped will clear up his long-standing problems once and for all. "The surgeon is supposed to be the best groin specialist in the country and he feels Adam's complaint is exactly the same as the one Steven Gerrard had," said Palmer. "Gerrard was back playing within eight weeks so, hopefully this will sort Adam out and he can get his head down over the summer and get fit. "It is most definitely his last chance here." And there was better news on midfielder Tom Curtis who, after a knee operation, is expected back within two or three weeks. Palmer confirmed that Goma Lambu and Layton Maxwell have both left the club. "Neither were really going to figure in my plans, but you have to take a look at players and give them an opportunity like we have with Adam Rundle and Giles Coke. "They had a chance to win a contract here but, although Layton is a very experienced player, I didn't think he could achieve the required fitness and, while Lambu has got something, I didn't think he was type of player, physically, we were looking for." Maxwell is now playing at Welsh Premier League Carmarthen Town while Lambu has joined Nationwide Conference South strugglers Redbridge. Although Colin Larkin is now out, both with injury and after being told he can leave the club, Stags' squad will otherwise be unchanged for the trip to Yeovil. The Somerset club are making hard work of sealing automatic promotion, having lost five of the last eight as they have slid towards the Play-offs pack. "Yeovil have had a pretty good season," said Palmer. "But right now they have hit a slippy patch like every team does during a season. It's all a question of how quickly you can get out of it. "We have been having a pretty successful time recently and been quite consistent. They need a win so the game could be quite open and entertaining." Yeovil are set to be boosted by the return of Colin Miles and Dale Williams. Central defender Colin Miles has recovered from a knee injury, which has kept him out for seven weeks, and he came through a run-out in the club's Somerset Premier Cup semi-final against Weston-super-Mare last night. Utility player Dale Williams is also expected back after a broken finger. But Mansfield transfer deadline day target, defender Kevin Amankwaah, remains sidelined with a hamstring injury. And Polish striker Bartosz Tarachulski, who scored hat-trick for the reserves last week, has gone down with chickenpox and will also miss out. |
Latest | April 2005