Manager Sam Allardyce was in teasing mood ahead of today’s 7-6 win on penalties over Schalke following a 0-0 draw.

He revealed that co chairman David Sullivan is working hard to bring in a new striker but refused to name names.

Talking to www.whufc.com he explained that he would keep his cards close to his chest after names were shot at him.

He said: “I’m keeping my fingers crossed. Certainly while we’ve been here the Chairman has made enquiries, whether they can be finalised I won’t know until I get back.

“Everyone is working hard to bring in a new face to give us the opportunity to score the goals with the chances we’re creating.

“We’ve got Enner Valencia but obviously we need to do three weeks work with him before we consider him for the first team so we’ve got other players we hope will be successful on the front line in that time.”

Of today’s game he said: “Ffrom our point of view it was a very good exercise, not only from the senior point of view but also as we played five Under-21 players and that experience has been massive for them in terms of the demands of first-team football.”

He added: “I don’t really worry about winning games in pre-season.It’s a means to get the players to match fitness and results are not the important thing.

“It’s about steering clear of injuries and building up that sharpness and the team getting to know each other.

“We’ve obviously got quite a few new players that have arrived and young players that have integrated into this pre-season, which is great for everybody. It is always nice to win a game of football of course!”