Jansen has licence to fill after Bond exit

League 2 club Crawley Town snapped up right back Andy Bond on Friday, and just 24 hours later left back Will Beesley sustained a knee injury in Chorley’s 3-1 victory over Hednesford Town.

Bond joined Chorley from Stevenage at the start of the campaign, but he had a release clause in his contract allowing him to return to the Football League if an approach was made. Crawley exercised the clause, and so the in-form 29-year-old made a shock, swift exit. Now Jansen says he is hoping to bring in a replacement but admits he will not settle.

He said: “I have lost my left back and my right back in the same week so now we need to fill those gaps. Will could be out for a number of weeks and Andy has gone. Crawley had a few sniffs in the January transfer window.

“He had a clause in his contract , they have come back and unfortunately he has left us. It is probably his last chance to make it at that level. It is a good opportunity and hopefully he will do well – but not too well, so that he will come back as we have the first option to have him back at the start of next season! I am always looking to strengthen but we have got to bring the right people in. We want to bring players in, not just for this season but for next season so that we can start well.”

Despite the defensive blows, Jansen’s men have won four of the last five and striker Jordan Connerton has scored five in five. That form has seen the Magpies soar to eighth in the National League North table, and they are now nine points behind fifth-placed Nuneaton with a game in hand and are preparing to host relegation-threatened Lowestoft Town at Victory Park on Saturday. Jansen said: “They are scrapping for their lives. They beat us 2-0 back in September but we had a slow start to the season, now we are full of confidence and keen to climb the table.”