Wanderers fans were warned today that the search for new talent is unlikely to produce instant results.

Sam Allardyce has targeted three new signings to bring his squad up to scratch for a concerted promotion push but the job is easier said than done and isn't expected to bear fruit before Saturday's Reebok clash with Barnsley.

Mark Fish's departure means a new centre-half is his top priority but he also wants a striker to replace Isaiah Rankin, who has returned to Bradford after his three month loan stint, plus a wide player to fill the problem slot on the right of midfield.

"It could happen tomorrow but it might not happen until the end of November," the manager warned as he continued the search for bargains, which included a fruitless trip to Denmark on Monday.

"We need players but they are hard to find. It's easier said than done."

Norwegian winger Gunnar Aase, who arrived from from Viking Stavanger this week, is the 47th trialist Allardyce has run the rule over since Wanderers reported for pre-season training - and the veteran Ian Marshall and Italian teenager Emanuel Morini are the only ones, so far, to have been awarded contracts!

The success of Michael Ricketts, who has scored 10 goals since being snapped up from Walsall in the summer for an initial £250,000 fee, and the contributions of Gareth Farrelly, John O'Kane, Anthony Barness and Simon Charlton are proof that the manager has an eye for a bargain.

But he admits: "Bargain basement players are hard to come by. We've already got a few and we're doing well with them but the fact that we've had 46 trialists in here to find, perhaps, one player, shows how hard in can be.

"You can dig them up but it's how long it takes. And it's not just me looking ... all our scouts have been on the go six, sometimes seven days a week, three or four games each."

Fit-again Paul Warhurst, who made a surprise return to action as substitute at Birmingham, could start his first league game of the season on Saturday.

Wanderers have switched the venue of their reserve team fixture against West Brom Reserves on Wednesday, November 22, from Leigh's Hilton Park to the Reebok.