Ian Edge believes he is in desperate need of additional firepower after suffering a first defeat as Huntingdon manager.

Town were beaten 2-1 at fellow United Counties League Premier Division top-six hopefuls Cogenhoe United last Saturday.

Danny Barker hit a late consolation goal on a day when Edge was able to name only 13 players in his squad and he admits attracting new blood will not be easy with chairman Paul Hunt and the club’s directors tightening the purse strings and reducing the size of the playing budget.

Edge, who succeeded Seb Hayes as boss last month, said: “We just didn’t look like scoring for the vast majority of the game and that cost us dear.

“We really need to get a striker and a couple of wingers in, but it is not easy to recruit players.

“The budget has been reduced compared to what it has been in the past so it is a case of unearthing local talent to try to bring through.

“There are players out there interested in coming in, but a lot of them seem to want the sort of money that I’m not prepared to pay.

“I need to find some diamonds in the rough and if that happens I’m sure I can shape them into good non-league players.”

Edge has been delighted with two of the few senior players who remain at Jubilee Park - defender Dan Newman and midfielder Luke Kennedy - in recent games.

Both have attracted attention from other clubs with higher-level Soham understood to be keen on Newman while Premier Division rivals Wisbech Town recently moved for Kennedy.

Huntingdon face a couple of mouth-watering home games in the next few days, starting with the visit of title-chasing Holbeach tonight (Wednesday).

That match is followed by a visit from Deeping Rangers on Saturday.

Edge added: “I know Holbeach co-boss Graham Drury very well and played under him at Stamford.

“I often ring him for a chat and respect his views on football.

“We will need everyone firing on all cylinders to compete against his team though and Deeping will then be another very topugh game at the weekend.

“There is no doubt in my mind they are a team we can beat, but it might all come down to our squad depth.

“We are so short on numbers currently that any sort of injury or unavailability could really hurt us.”