WITH the January transfer window officially open, Hartlepool United are currently making enquiries but won’t rush any new signings through the door this month.

Pools are keen to bolster their squad in numbers with a busy League Two fixture schedule to play along with participation in the FA Cup and Papa John’s Trophy. Tuesday night’s win over Bolton Wanderers sealed a safe passage into the quarter-finals of the Papa John’s with the draw coming later on Thursday.

Will Goodwin and Tyler Burey’s loan spells have come to an end with the pair returning to their parents clubs Stoke City and Millwall respectively. Pools will now need to add to their attacking line given the loss of Goodwin and Burey.

This is the first transfer window for Graeme Lee as a manager but the former Boro Under-23’s boss is not shying away from the responsibility of chopping and changing his squad. He’s getting his hands dirty by making enquiries to a number of clubs and talking to potential signings but he admits he’s prepared to be play the waiting games if needs be.

Lee said: “Ideally you want some permanents so we’re getting a foundation for what we want to bring in but we’re looking anywhere and everywhere at the moment.

“We’ve got targets that we’re speaking to that we are trying to bring in. We’re not rushing in the sense of bringing someone in for the sake of bringing someone in but we are in talks all the time.

“We want people in January as soon as we can but every single club in the country wants to do the same thing.

“We are progressing with talks and hopefully we can get a few done as soon as possible.

Asked whether the club were expecting any early deals to be completed, Lee replied: “Hopefully. Like I say, we all want to do it as early as possible but there is lots of conversations to be had and lots of things that could get in the way.

“We’re progressing all the time. We’re speaking and watching. We’re speaking to different clubs all the time so things are moving. Everyone probably wants things to move faster but we are moving forward with things and it’s about getting the right ones in.”

It’s well documented that the club have suffered from financial strife in recent years having almost gone into liquidation until Raj Singh bought the club back in 2018. In the present day, the bank balance looks entirely different and the club has been heavily boosted with an injection of funds following promotion to League Two in the summer.

Chairman Singh has prepared to back the team with a budget he believes is ‘good enough for the play-offs’ while cup prize winnings (including another £40,000 from the win over Bolton Wanderers in midweek), staggered payments from the EFL and revenue from increased crowds this season have added to the club’s budget.

While there will be money to spend this month, the manager doesn’t want to make signings just for the sake of it.

Lee added: “As a club, we want to show that we are ambitious and we want to move forward but like I keep saying, if we are going to bring players in then we’ve got to bring players that are going to improve us on the pitch.

“Lads at the moment are giving everything they can on the pitch and giving everything they can on the training field which is fantastic.

“We just want to try and add to that and bring the right personalities in. Not just the right players who can impact the changing room in a positive way as well.”

Pools are back in action this weekend in third round of the FA Cup when Championship side Blackpool make the visit to the Suit Direct Stadium.