IAN Evatt has plans to add up to FIVE new signings before the close of the transfer window.

The Wanderers boss has already brought in five new players this summer but has recently had his numbers hit by injury and illness.

Already missing the injured George Johnston, Ricardo Santos was left behind in today’s 1-1 friendly draw at Chester with a virus, and both Dion Charles and Nathan Baxter were rested. That meant Evatt had to draft in B Team youngsters like Max Conway, Nelson Khumbeni and Matt Tweedley as cover.

Wanderers hope to add at least one new signing by the end of next week but Evatt hopes to be busy for some time yet.

“There’s no update to speak about right now but we are working very hard behind the scenes and we’re about four or five light, being honest,” he said.

“We all know the positions that we are light in. But we have to be patient and target the right ones.

“We can’t panic. We have to be sure with what we are doing and mitigate the risk as much as we possibly can. That is what we have done so far, been as diligent as we possibly can be, and because of that a couple of things haven’t happened but we are doing right by this football club.

“That is what we have always said we are going to do.”

Wanderers were held by National League North Chester having gone ahead through George Thomason and been pegged back on the stroke of half time by a spectacular strike from former Stoke City defender Joel Taylor.

Evatt admitted that wayward finishing had cost his side a more comfortable afternoon.

“I thought the first half was really good, we completely controlled the game but, again, we should have scored more,” he said.

“We conceded a wonder goal but from our perspective it is a really poor goal to concede. We didn’t deal with the initial ball in the channel and Geth tried to see it out. Whether it is a foul on not is irrelevant, there’s a minute to go to half time and you have to be professional.

“We didn’t get to the ball quickly enough from the set play and then the lad puts it in the top corner.

“We go in level and they hadn’t really had a sniff.

“Second half is always going to be different because there is a huge amount of disruption making changes and bringing in kids to save some of the first team players. It is difficult to gather momentum. Even then, we still had opportunities to win the game.

“This is just a fitness exercise but that is going to change now as pre-season starts to get a bit more serious.

“We’ll have Rico back by next week and hopefully by the back end of next week have some transfer news but, for now, it is about keeping this group in one piece.”

Wanderers had control of the first half up until the last few minutes when Taylor unleashed a brilliant 25-yard shot to beat Joel Coleman and level the game.

Thomason had opened the scoring 10 minutes earlier, drilling a shot past Wyll Stanway with the help of a slight deflection after Josh Dacres-Cogley had pulled a ball back from the right.

The Whites should really have been further ahead – Randell Williams missed a good headed chance, Dacres-Cogley had a powerful effort deflected just past the post and Dempsey brought a decent save out of the home keeper.

Chester – who had former Wanderers defender Liam Edwards at centre-half – were well organised and made Evatt’s side work for their space but the first-half football was not as fluent as it had been in the previous friendly, nor the spectacle anything like as entertaining.

Evatt left five of his first-half side on the field for the second half, and one of the replacements, Victor Adeboyejo, should have put his side ahead just before the hour mark. Thomason did well to win back possession and after a clever touch from Morley, the striker tried to bend a shot into the bottom corner but put his effort a yard wide.

Kieran Sadlier also passed a shot just past the post after a neat exchange with Cameron Jerome on the edge of the box.

Wanderers very nearly went behind 10 minutes before the end when Charlie Caton hammered a shot against the bar – and by that stage the Whites looked like they were fresh out of ideas.

There was a late flurry, however, and Cameron Jerome should have scored after getting his head to Declan John’s left wing cross.

Youngster Matt Tweedley also latched on to a ball over the top, managing to nudge a shot past the keeper, only for it to be cleared by a defender as it rolled towards the empty net.