SWINDON Wildcats player-coach Aaron Nell says that the club are targeting a D-man for their fifth import signing for next season.

New English Premier League rules coming into force for the upcoming campaign allow clubs to have five imports in their matchday squad.

And with Nell already securing the services of forwards Jonas Hoog, Tomasz Malasinski, Jan Kostal and Maxim Birbraer for next term, the Cats chief is looking to shore up his defence and expects an announcement next month.

The Link Centre side have had veteran Canadian D-man Kenton Smith on their roster for the past two seasons.

However, he has had his playing time limited with former head coach Ryan Aldridge looking ice four forwards, while Stevie Lyle and Nell have called on the 36-year-old to be the bench coach.

Two years ago Finland’s Aku Pekkarinen left the club after being named their best D-man for the 2013-14 season.

“We are doing some work on the fifth import right now,” Nell told the Advertiser.

“It’s getting close and hopefully next month we will have something to announce.

“We are looking at a D-man, with the way our squad is shaping up, it’s probably where we need to bring someone in.”

As well as looking at strengthening the defence with an import, Nell says that the club are looking to bring in ‘three or four British players’ with one likely to be a second netminder following Jordan Hedley’s return to Milton Keynes Lightning.

“We are talking to a few people and if we can sign the people we want, then I am sure we are going to have a strong squad next season,” the player-coach added.

“I am happy with what we have so far but it’s not easy. There are not a lot of players out there and a lot of teams are after the same players.

“Signing people like Stevie (Lyle) and Tomasz Malasinski early in the summer was massive for us.

“They are people you build your team around, especially Stevie. He is such a big player for us and if we hadn’t re-signed him I think we would be a lot more worried than we are right now.

“They are very good players and they are the types of people that other people want to play with so it does help when you are recruiting players.”