Shrewsbury Town manager Paul Simpson is confident of making at least one further addition to his squad before they return for pre-season training next week.But hopes of a third new face following Grant Holt and Michael Jackson through the Oteley Road entrance door before the end of this week appear to be fading.

Simpson had spoken of his desire of completing his fifth signing of the summer when he unveiled his brace of high-profile arrivals on Tuesday.

But the Town boss said today: “I’m still looking to add to the squad but, the way things have gone this week, it doesn’t look like anything will happen before tomorrow.

“It’s just one of those things and we will keep working.”

One player who has attracted interest from Town is Rotherham defender and captain Graham Coughlan.

Rotherham manager Mark Robins has confirmed they have received a cash bid from Shrewsbury for the 33-year-old Irishman, who lists Plymouth and Sheffield Wednesday as his previous clubs.

“I wouldn’t say it was totally dead but it has been dragging on for a long time – probably five or six weeks – and we seem to have hit a brick wall,” Simpson said.

Meanwhile, the Town boss insists he doesn’t feel an added burden after becoming the manager to pay out the biggest fee in Town’s history – £170,000 to Forest for Holt.

“The pressure is there because I want to be successful,” he added. “The chairman brought me in because he wasn’t happy with what was going on in the past.

“It’s up to me to try and make him a bit happier and if the chairman can back me with that type of money, that’s brilliant for me.

“But I want to be successful and I would have wanted to be equally as successful if I hadn’t been given that transfer fee.”

By James Garrison