AFTER watching his side fail to score in three consecutive games, Basingstoke Town manager Jason Bristow has admitted that he is on the lookout for a new striker.

Despite dominating Monday night’s FA Trophy replay, almost from start to finish, Town were unable to make the breakthrough and lost 1-0 to Hampshire rivals Havant and Waterlooville.

It was a frustrating evening for Bristow, whose side have not hit the net in more than five hours of playing time – and the Basingstoke boss has indicated that a goalscorer is top of his Christmas wish-list.

“It’s never nice when you don’t score in one game, let alone three,” he said. “We have had chances in all three games, we just haven’t put them away, and that’s the area we need to work on.

“What we lack is a striker who is happy to just stand in the box and get on the end of chances. Good players like that are hard to come by and tend to command big wages but we are looking at what is about.

“There is no rush and we don’t intend to bring players in simply for the sake of it, but we are looking.”

Two players that Town fans would love to see back at the Camrose are Greg Draper and Delano Sam-Yorke.

Draper is a player Bristow has been monitoring but he is now playing on a fairly regular basis for Welsh Premier League side The New Saints.

Sam-Yorke, who left Town for Conference Premier side Cambridge United in the summer, is another player Bristow has been keeping an eye on. He has found his opportunities limited this season, so a loan move could be a possibility, but the ball remains in the Cambridge court.

Either way, it seems unlikely that Bristow will be able to find a new striker before Saturday’s Conference South trip to Chelmsford City (kick-off 3pm).

However, he does have the option of shaking up his forward line by handing a start to Jordace Holder-Spooner.

“Jordace is hungry,” Bristow added. “He has not played for a long time and is desperate to get back involved.

“When he came on against Havant he was a livewire and looked sharp. We have got options in every position and bringing Jordace in is something we will have to think about.”

Saturday’s opponents have brought in a striker this week, new Chelmsford boss Mark Hawkes bringing Luke Callander with him from Ryman League outfit Heybridge Swifts.

Bristow added: “Chelmsford had a good win last Saturday and it’s always tough against a side with a new manager because everyone is out to impress.”

Visit basingstokegazette.co.uk/sport for live updates from Chelmsford on Saturday afternoon.