Club still yet to receive international clearence for striker

STEVENAGE are yet to receive international clearance for Don Cowan’s proposed move from Irish side Longford Town.

It was hoped the transfer, which was pushed through late last night (Wednesday), would be ratified today but as of yet no decision has been made.

“We’re not sure on Don as of yet,” says Westley. “Until the international clearance comes through we’re not sure he is a signing, but we’ll wait and see on that in the next 24 to 48 hours. We’re not sure as a football club yet whether everything was done so we’ll wait and see.

“I’ve had a decent enough look at him. He brings a different dimension to our front line and he impressed Millwall during pre-season but he didn’t quite do enough for Kenny to offer him a contract, but certainly at our level I think he’ll provide a lot of pace and ask questions of defenders.”

One transfer that had no such concern is that of midfielder Josh Walker, who has signed on loan from Watford until January. The 22-year-old, who was on loan at Boro last season before a subsequent loan spell at Northampton Town, will go straight into the squad for Saturday’s match against Rochdale.

Westley said: “We know what Josh all about, we had him here for two months last season even though we only had him for two games. He’s got great set-piece delivery and he’s a good footballer so he will bring a lot of imagination into midfield I’m sure.

“There’s always a healthy competition in our squad and it’s good to have some quality in the middle of the park and the more quality you bring to your squad the better your chances are of playing a decent brand of football.

“When you add quality some players feel under threat but the ones who feel under are the ones whose level of performance has dropped to a level that makes them feel that way – so it’s up to them to respond in a positive way and make sure anybody new can’t get a place in the side.”