Adie Britton is hoping a budgetary boost will help him finally end his summer-long search for a striker.

The Bath City boss believes the acquisition of a hitman will ensure his team are serious promotion contenders when the Blue Square South season gets under way in less than a fortnight.

Britton has been unable to find a player who fits the bill so far but is hoping some extra funding will end the long wait for the final piece in the puzzle.

"I went on the sponsored walk yesterday and that's all the fans were asking, 'what's happening with the striker?'," said Britton following this afternoon's 1-0 win over Chippenham Town.

"There might be a development soon as it looks like a bit more money will be released. If that materialises it would open up our boundaries a bit more.

"We were looking at a certain level of player but hopefully we can now look at bringing in a better striker. If I am told I have 50 per cent more to spend then that makes a massive difference.

"We have a couple of strikers who potentially could join us. One of them did particularly well in the Blue Square South last season but he is injured at the moment and won't be available until the end of August, which is not ideal, so he is a fallback.

"Most people can see that we are quite strong overall. We have always been good defensively, we have more options in midfield this season and I am pleased with the players we have brought in so far this summer.

"The one thing we are lacking is someone who will get in the box and score 20 goals a season. If we get that striker then I really think we will make the play-offs at least."

Meanwhile, keeper Will Puddy has returned to the club on a three-month loan from Cheltenham Town and will act as temporary cover for summer signing Ryan Robinson, who is recovering from a back operation. Puddy, who is highly rated by the Robins, was once a member of City's youth team.

And veteran midfielder Marcus Browning is poised to follow on a permanent basis after impressing Britton during pre-season.

"Marcus Browning has agreed to sign for us and will be in the squad from this week," Britton confirmed.

"He will fill the utility role that Steve Jones had with us but is a little bit sharper than Steve and will offer us a bit more going forward.

"He could help us coach if needs be but I am just looking at him as a player at this moment in time.

"Ryan Robinson is okay to train but cannot do any intensive work until the third week in September, which is a blow as he is clearly a very accomplished goalkeeper."

Meanwhile, Britton was upset by Chippenham's overly-aggressive approach for this afternoon's friendly, which saw the visitors have one player sent off and another three booked.

"The game became a niggly affair for some reason," he said.

"The second half was a battle with some very, very poor challenges which you do not want to see in a pre-season game.

"Because of that it was difficult to take much from the second half but there were a few positives overall.

"There was a lot of good football played out there in the first half. We scored one goal and should have had three or four. We were much the sharper team and the passing was good, we just overelaborated with the final ball.

"My only concern was in the final third and that is the area where a quality finisher would make a huge difference."