CHRIS LAKEY Glenn Roeder will embark on another recruitment exercise looking to replace the players “without the bottle” to try and win their shirts back.

CHRIS LAKEY

Glenn Roeder will embark on another recruitment exercise looking to replace the players “without the bottle” to try and win their shirts back.

The Canaries boss was furious after the 3-0 surrender at Plymouth on Saturday and promised to work as “quickly as possible” to bring in new players.

Roeder has been linked with Newcastle's out-of-favour Shola Ameobi and Birmingham left-back Mat Sadler, and says whoever he brings in on loan will be here to play first team football.

“I will do everything I can to convince players that they can come here and play football,” said Roeder. “If I can get at least two or three in it would be fantastic, and these people are not going to come to be in the squad, they are going to come to play and there are people there who are going to lose their shirt - and we aren't convinced how much bottle they have got to win it back.”

Roeder is in desperate need of a proven goal scorer to play alongside Jamie Cureton and reports suggested he had tried to raid two of his former clubs last week.

Ameobi appeared to fit his description when talking of a deal that he couldn't quite fit together last week, although Bobby Zamora, at West Ham, was another shout.

“Shola Ameobi is a player that did exceptionally well for me,” said Roeder. “His record in the Premiership when he played for me is something very close to a goal every three games in the Premiership, if not slightly better. He is completely out of the frame at Newcastle. We haven't made any inquires about him but he is certainly a highly talented striker, but of course it is about opinions. We will just have to wait and see.”

Roeder has now see all of City's senior players, aside from the injured Mark Fotheringham, in action and has a two-week break for international games in which to resume his player hunt.

“I have seen most of them, but I am very clear in my mind the squad I have inherited,” said Roeder, whose only signing, Martin Taylor from Birmingham, was injured on Saturday. “I have a clear picture of what they can do and what they can't do.

“We need players through the door as quickly as possible. I have been working hard on that and we will continue to work hard on that all next week.

“No game next week gives me that little bit more time to get players in. I have to have new players, have to have fresh blood in this football club, into this squad by the time we play Coventry. It goes without saying.”

The defeats by Watford and Plymouth have proved a major let-down since Roeder's Norwich career began with a battling draw at home to derby rivals Ipswich eight days ago - but the manager believes that was a one-off.

“I thought that was a typical derby match that has nothing to do with league position,” he said. “Derby matches are more like cup ties.

“I never built my hopes up too high after the Ipswich game, my feet were firmly on the ground even after everyone else was so pleased and I think the pleasure was we did play well - but equally the pleasure was we came back against our local rivals. But they didn't fool me.”