WANDERERS are planning to appoint a new goalkeeping coach but don’t see the process being concluded in the short-term.

Andy Fairman has stepped up to the first team to plug the gap left by Matt Gilks, who left along with Ian Evatt last month and has since taken up a post with Barnsley.

Steven Schumacher did bring in Mark Hughes and Richie Kyle to his backroom team shortly after being appointed as head coach and has not ruled out further appointments in the future.

But ex-Everton coach Fairman will continue for the time being as the task of finding a full-time replacement continues.

“Andy is still working with us from the B team,” Schumacher confirmed. “He has been very good, I've enjoyed working with him.

“He is doing a good job with Luke Southwood, Nathan Baxter and Joel Coleman, so at the moment nothing has changed on that.

“We are going through a process of trying to see if we can strengthen and add to the backroom staff but there is no major rush because, as I say, we are doing OK at the moment.

“We just need to make sure that we bring in the right people rather than just getting a number in for the sake of it.”

Fairman has been coaching in the academy set-up since January 2021, initially stepping in to help Gilks, who had been brought out of semi-retirement and was featuring regularly for the first team in League Two. He had previously worked with Wycombe and also runs his own goalkeeper training academy.

Darren Behcet, who worked with Schumacher as goalkeeper coach at Plymouth and moved with him to Stoke City last December, is still at the Bet365 Stadium, working under Mark Robins.

Another two coaches who followed Schumacher from Plymouth to Stoke are ex-Manchester City academy man Peter Cavanagh and head of performance Elliot Turner – but both have since left the club.

Ex-West Ham midfielder Chris Cohen also left Stoke at the same time, having been appointed as assistant head coach from a similar role at Lincoln.

Turner has recently been working on a consultancy basis with Port Vale.