SOUTHEND United manager Phil Brown has stepped up his pursuit of two strikers.

Brown is interested in bringing in ex-Rangers forward Nicky Clark.

And he is also keen to sign a front-man who has just been released by a Championship club.

“We’re interested in signing Nicky and also another striker I travelled up to Newcastle to hold talks with,” said Brown.

“There’s a lot of interest in him but I spoke with him for an hour-and-a-half and we’re probably at second or third base in terms of finances now.

“The next base is for him to decide if he wants to move down from the north of the country but I’m hoping he will be coming to have a look at the area when he’s back from holiday.

“There’s not much more we can do at the moment and we’re just having to play that horrible waiting game.”

The striker in question played on loan in League One last season and Brown hopes to be working with both him and Clark next season.

Clark bagged 23 goals in 48 starts while with Rangers and has caught the eye of Brown, who has also tabled offers for two other players.

But the Blues boss knows he will have to remain patient in his pursuit of new signings.

“I know fans are frustrated we haven’t signed anyone yet but they should try being me,” said Brown.

“It’s still early but we’ve got all our ducks lined up.

“We have targets and we’ve made four offers but we’re waiting on people to get back to us which is quite common at this time of year.”

Brown revealed he wanted to sign a goalkeeper, a new full-back, two centre-backs, a winger, a creative midfield plus two new strikers.

But he could opt to work with a smaller squad next season.

“The emphasis is on quality this summer rather than big numbers,” said Brown.

“I think we’re going to need to make six or seven signings though and we could also look to bring in a couple on loan.”