Kelly keeps quiet over any new arrivals at Fleetwood Town

Fleetwood Town assistant boss Rob Kelly says it's a case of wait and see as to whether they have a new left-back in place before Saturday's game at Gillingham.
Gethin Jones featured at left-back for Fleetwood Town on SaturdayGethin Jones featured at left-back for Fleetwood Town on Saturday
Gethin Jones featured at left-back for Fleetwood Town on Saturday

Amari’i Bell left Town to join League One rivals Blackburn Rovers on Friday but could not feature for Rovers at Highbury 24 hours later as the deal was not done in time.

But now that Bell has gone Town have a conundrum at left-back after new full-back, Gethin Jones, made his home debut in that slot.

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The Everton Under-23 signing is predominantly right-footed and so it was a big test against the promotion favourites.

Fleetwood head coach Uwe Rosler had spoken of the need to hit the sales and recruit a left-back but Kelly would not reveal whether they would have a new face in time for their next league game at Gillingham next weekend.

But Kelly backed Town’s recruitment department to find a replacement for Bell.

When asked if Town were looking for a replacement he said: “Yes, obviously.”

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When asked if they would have a new face in time for the Gillingham game he said: “We will see.

“It is obviously an area that the club are looking at so we have got a good recruitment department and a good structure and I’m sure they are looking at that.”

Jones slotted in to that left-back role after making his first start at right-back in the 2-0 FA Cup third round replay defeat at Leicester City in midweek.

Kelly admitted it was a tough test for the Welshman, who racked up another 90 minutes after spending most of the first half of the season sidelined because of an ankle injury.

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And Kelly praised his battling spirit and for his improvement as the game progressed.

He said: “He stuck at it, the lad he was against is a decent player and gave him a difficult time in the first half but he grew into the game.

“And he did really well on Tuesday night, the lad hasn’t played in three or four weeks.

“He is another one who has just come off the back of Tuesday night which was a big game for him.

“We’ve switched him to the left-hand side and he has shown a lot of courage and a lot of spirit to battle through.

“Second half, as the game wore on, he got better.”