Dave and Mickey open up to the public

As usual they were very non-commital on the subject of new signings but it would seem that the strikers and defence have been settled upon. The midfield would still seem to be very much under review with both the Heikenen to Luton saga and Paul Greens dip in form discussed at length. Heiky went to Luton purely on a higher league and money basis, while Paul Green was suffering from tiredness at the end of last season and is now carrying a niggling injury.

Dave and Mickey both hinted at looking at other midfield options, with Ricky Ravenhill as well as Adam Hughes looking like he will get plenty of opportunities to shine in his six month contract.

Much praise was heaped on Lewis Guys and Paul Heffernen's shoulders, although they wanted to see improvements in a number of other players.

Dave Mulligan (left) in action against former club Barnsley

Dave Mulligan, who was put on the transfer list last season and has seen the pressure for his place in the side increase with the arrival of Phil McGuire from Aberdeen, was praised for turning round his lifestyle choices.

The pair also commented on the lack of goals from James Coppinger, especially when compared to McIndoe. They expressed the hope that a period of stability down the right wing, mainly due to the injury to McSporran, will improve this for Copps.

Much was also made of the Barry Richardson return as goalkeeping coach. Barry has never really made himself overly popular at Belle Vue, mainly due to his playing days while we were in the Conference where he responded to critisism from the Belle Vue crowd, but it is obvious that Penney and Walker rate him highly. Was also noticable with him having to sit on the subs bench due to injuries to the Danish keepers that his name wasn't booed or grumbled at when read out over the tannoy.