Mowbray ready to run the rule

Tony Mowbray is ready to take the opportunity of running the rule over a number of trialist goalkeepers during pre-season.

After the experienced Danny Coyne left the club at the end of last season, Mowbray is eager to add to his squad and support regular keeper Jason Steele and the far more inexperienced Connor Ripley.

With Steele included in Stuart Pearce's final Olympic squad today, the 21-year-old is set to miss the whole of Boro's pre-season schedule. Ripley should, however, have returned from England Under-19 duty in Estonia in time for the opening friendly run-out at Falkirk on 22nd July.

"We're in the market for a goalkeeper. The pre-season programme isn't too bad because Connor is back from his under-19 tournament before the first game we're going to play," Mowbray told the Northern Echo. "But I think we'll use pre-season as an opportunity to have a look at a lot of goalkeepers. There are a lot of goalkeepers out of contract and available on the market.

"I would think we'll have a few in to have a look at. Potentially, we could be playing a lot of pre-season games with trialist goalkeepers," he continued. "By the end of it, hopefully we'll have found one that we like enough to give a contract to."

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