Paddy Davitt King's Lynn boss Keith Webb has admitted he must plan for life without 37-goal strike duo Danny Bloomfield and Matt Nolan ahead of the club's historic conference bow.

Paddy Davitt

King's Lynn boss Keith Webb admitted yesterday he must plan for life without 37-goal strike duo Danny Bloomfield and Matt Nolan ahead of the club's historic conference bow.

Ipswich-based Bloomfield has indicated he will struggle to remain part of Lynn's Blue Square North squad while Nolan is demanding improved terms.

Webb confirmed he is in the market for fresh firepower after one time Cambridge United target Leo Fortune-West joined league rivals Alfreton. The Linnets' chief has ruled out a move for free agent Trevor Benjamin following his release from League Two Hereford.

"I think he has more inclination to stay at a higher level," said Webb. "There's also the issue of what we could offer him, but I believe coming out of League Two to play two levels lower is a big drop. We'll keep plugging away. Ideally I want two to three players to come into the club. A striker is a priority. If we lose Danny and Matty you are talking 30-plus goals so we need to find them from somewhere else.

"Danny has made his feelings clear. We pretty much know the league we'll be in now and I don't expect the circumstances to change. If he really doesn't want to go North then it looks like we don't have any option. Matty is in a similar situation but he is obviously looking for a better deal. We are not in a position to offer him that so he has a decision to make. I'm absolutely confident all the other lads who haven't already indicated they will sign will return."

Lynn were confirmed in the Blue Square North following the recent conference annual meeting after a prolonged period of uncertainty. Webb insisted the delays have not wrecked his rebuilding plans.

"It's not a case that we've missed out on players who have gone elsewhere because we couldn't be sure which league we would be in," he said. "Generally we've found the higher you go the more the players want to hang fire and see what is out there.

"The only exceptions at this time of year are when players are offered extortionate sums that are too good to turn down. Daryl Clare is one who springs to mind. We couldn't compete with that. It was a whole different ball game, but of course the better players are the ones everyone is after."

Webb (right) confirmed Lynn's pre-season line-up is now complete with games against a Norwich XI, Blue Square Premier play-off finalists Cambridge United and Scottish First Division outfit Clyde.

"I'm happy with the programme," he said. "We won't be looking to add any more games. There's a nice mixture there with some tests for us and all the squad will get a chance to impress."

Cambridge United's scheduled visit to The Walks on Saturday, July 12 has denied rivals Cambridge City a big money spinning derby.

United chairman Phil Law confirmed his club were forced to pull out of a trip to Milton Road after the fixture clashed with their Lynn game.

"I'm probably as guilty as anybody," he said. "I've kept a good dialogue with Ken Bobbins, the chairman at King's Lynn, after I met him when we played them in the FA Trophy. Unbeknown to Jimmy (Quinn) at the time, I'd already done the deal with Ken that we'd do something on that day. We had Gavin Hoyte out there on loan at the end of the season and Keith Webb really took him under his wing, so they're a side I've got a lot of time for.

"I feel bad for Cambridge City because we've had some good friendlies against them in the last two seasons. We had to let somebody down and I'd made this undertaking to Lynn and I'd like to fulfil that."