Derry City boss Declan Devine hoping to secure two signings ahead of Friday’s friendly at champions, Dundalk

Devine is aiming to strengthen his squad, particularly at the top end of the pitch, ahead of their clash against Vinny Perth’s side but stressed he won’t rush into things with still a number of weeks before the season gets underway again.

“We are talking to quite a few people at the minute. A lot of players are waiting on clarification from their own set-ups to see where they’re at so we are just sitting tight and seeing where we are," he stated.

“We hope to have at least another one, maybe two, in before the Dundalk game on Friday but I don’t think these things are going to move quickly at the minute. It’s a case of exactly as we are and take it from there.

“There are still four weeks until we play a competitive game so as much as we try to get players in, we aren’t going to dive into anything but we’re hoping by the end of the week we’ll have at least one or two more in.

“It’s well documented that we need a striker so I hope to have a striker playing in the game on Friday so we can get a good look at him and see how he goes.”

One man who continues to be linked with the Brandywell club is Lilywhites’ front man, Georgie Kelly, but Devine doesn’t expect the former City striker to leave Oriel Park during this transfer window.

“I think it was common knowledge that we went after Georgie during every transfer window but Dundalk are reluctant to do business. They have always wanted to hold onto Georgie and rightly so. To be honest, I don’t expect any change on that between now and the start of this campaign,” he added.

“I think we’ll have to look elsewhere at this moment in time to see what’s out there. Georgie is a player that I would love to bring to the club but he’s not one that’s on the radar at the minute.”

On the plus side, new signing Joe Thomson has settled in well, while Gerardo Bruna has returned to full training and youngsters Michael Harris and Patrick Ferry have shown real promise in recent weeks while Darren Cole and Ronan McKinley are also back.

“Joe has settled in well and Gerardo Bruna is training again and that’s like another body to us,” he added.

“Two young lads have emerged in Michael Harris and Patrick Ferry, they have been outstanding, so we are pretty much working off the same squad that we had going into break.

“Darren is back training but he hasn’t really been involved yet. He’s taking part in all the football sessions, which is brilliant because he has only missed four games since he has had his operation. That’s a massive lift for us because him and Ronan McKinley have both been out with cruciates since October/November last year when they got their operations.

“But yes, Darren Cole will be a brilliant addition to the group when he’s fit and ready but we can’t rush him now. He’s in the football sessions and that’s brilliant having been away from the ball for so long, but we need to get him back and get him fit.”

Meanwhile John Brown (No 583) claimed first prize winning £850 in the club’s monthly draw for June and Gary Ferry (No 538) was second and won £300.

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