CHELTENHAM are hoping to get a new centre-forward signed in time to face Wanderers on Saturday.

Wade Elliott is reportedly on the trail of Wolves youngster Nathan Fraser, who is also of interest to Matty Taylor’s Shrewsbury Town.

The Robins lost forward George Lloyd to an ankle injury which requires surgery and have also been rocked by a knee injury to influential midfielder Elliott Bonds.

Rob Street and Aidan Keena are the only two fit options up front at present but manager Elliott was pragmatic about his chances of adding more signings after their 2-0 defeat to Birmingham City in the Carabao Cup.

“We are where we are at the minute,” he told Gloucestershire Live. “We generally play with two centre forwards. We've only got two senior forwards at the minute. Especially with the way the season is panning out, every game is about 110/120 minutes long. Would we like one or two in, yes of course I would. But I know where we are in the pecking order, so at the minute we'll make the best of what we have got.”

Former Wycombe midfielder Curtis Thompson has featured in both games so far but is still way off full match fitness.

Cheltenham lost the talismanic Alfie May to Charlton Athletic in the summer and have been tipped by many for a season of struggle in League One.

After Wanderers’ visit Elliott’s side face trips to Reading and Portsmouth, a schedule that emphasises the size of the job at hand for the former Burnley man.

“It doesn’t get any easier,” he said, looking ahead to the next three games. “But it's what we want to be in the league for isn't it. You want to play those clubs. We've fought really, really hard to be here so we'll embrace the challenge.”

Given the lack of bodies in his squad, Elliott is also hoping that the current trend of elongated stoppage time does not continue to be a major talking point.

“I hope it settles down a little bit,” he said. “I can understand the thought behind it and they want the ball in play more, which I am all for. But there is probably a better means of going about it if you want to clamp down on time-wasting properly and get the ball in play more that way. It's asking a lot of the players.”