COBBLERS boss Aidy Boothroyd is confident of signing a new goalkeeper on a short-term loan this weekend.
And Boothroyd has also admitted that the decision to terminate Neal Kitson’s contract is ‘not a blow’ for him or the club, and that his departure hasn’t really made any difference to his search for a new shot-stopper.
The Town boss has been in the market for a new goalkeeper for most of the summer even with Kitson part of the squad, and says that chase is now almost at an end.
“We do still need a goalkeeper because Shane Higgs is not going to be ready for the start of the season, so we are going to need a short-term loan,” revealed Boothroyd at the club’s rain-soaked official photo-call at Sixfields, although he was staying tight-lipped on who it will be.
“I am quite close on getting that secured, and I am hoping we can do it over this weekend.”
First-choice goalkeeper Higgs is not due to recover fully from from his Achilles injury until the end of September, so now Kitson has left, youth team rookie Dean Snedker will play against a Tottenham Hotspur XI at Sixfields tomorrow (Sat, ko 3pm).
The teenager has impressed Boothroyd immensely in pre-season, and he has no qualms about promotion him to be the first team squad’s back-up man, especially as he felt Kitson was a shadow of the goalkeeper that arrived at Sixfields at the back end of last season, with the player enduring personal problems back in America.
Asked how much of a blow it is to lose Kitson on the eve of the new campaign, Boothroyd said: “It’s not a blow, because Neal came in and served his purpose.
“He was excellent when he first arrived, was very committed and saved two penalties in two games.
“They are things we can look back on, and he was part of our squad that helped us survive.
“But he has come back and he is not the same player, and he is not the same person.
“I think there are things with him behind the scenes that need to be rectified at home, and it was a mutual decision that is was right for him to go back to America and get on with his career there, and more importantly sort himself out personally as well.”
Snedker was part of the team group at today’s photo-call, and Boothroyd believes the club’s youth department have unearthed another gem.
“The way Dean Snedker has been performing means nothing has really changed,” admitted the Cobblers boss.
“Dean is in no way near the finished article, it will take him a year or more to get anywhere near the first team, but I have been really impressed with him.
“Tim Flowers speaks very highly of him, and it’s great Dean is working day in, day out with somebody like Tim who is an exceptional coach that has a fantastic pedigree and track record.
“I am pleased with the way that is coming on, and that it is another player that has come through the youth policy, because that is why you have a youth policy, to produce players like Michael Jacobs and Dean Snedker.”