Kettering boss eyes reinforcement

Harper has kept 10 clean sheets for the Poppies this season

New Kettering player-manager Lee Harper is hoping to add to his squad ahead of Sunday's clash against Leeds in the FA Cup second round.

Goalkeeper Harper took over the Poppies last week following Mark Cooper's decision to join Peterborough United.

"I'll be speaking to the chairman about anyone coming in or players going out," he told BBC Radio Northampton.

"If we can get players in, we will, but we've got to do something by Thursday or we can't do anything until January."

He added: "So I'll be working on doing that over the next couple of days with John [Deehan, assistant manager] and the chairman.

This is 38-year-old Harper's first job as a manager, and the Leeds clash will provide his side with their biggest test since losing 4-2 to Fulham in the fourth round of the Cup last season.

And Harper, whose contract is initially until the end of the season, admitted his side will need to sharpen up in order to have a chance against the League One side, following Saturday's 2-0 defeat by Kidderminster.

It is a stressful job, certainly more stressful than I thought it would be.

Lee Harper

"I watched the video yesterday and I spoke to the lads briefly this morning. It was just key moments in that game letting us down," he said.

"I was quite pleased with my performance, other than I could've done a bit better with their first goal. The chairman said to me that we'd made more chances in that game than we had done in a lot of games this season.

"We are trying to play a bit more, without doing it too quickly. I want the players to be better on the ball, but we're trying to keep that continuity that's got us through so many games this season."

Harper has already set his targets on achieving promotion with Kettering and had told BBC Radio Northampton earlier in the week that he has set his standards high.

And the added responsibility of managing the club as well as keeping goal is a challenge he believes he is capable of meeting head-on.

"It is a stressful job, certainly more stressful than I thought it would be. But I'm enjoying it. It's given me a huge responsibility and I wouldn't change it.

"The first couple of nights were an absolute nightmare. There were so many different things in my head. The fans don't realise how much you want to be a success."