HARTLEPOOL UNITED will adhere to the Financial Fair Play rules as set out by the football authorities as they look to add to their squad.

The sale of striker Luke James this week leaves Pools short of a striker who scored 16 times last season.

Peterborough’s offer is not at the £1m mark as claimed by some parties and it falls short of Pools’ record sale, the £750,000 for Tommy Miller in 2001.

And, while boss Colin Cooper accepts the need to add to his numbers amid a sticky start to the season, he will be using the loan market when the emergency loan window opens next week.

Cooper said he has completed the groundwork to get some deals completed in the coming days and then hopes to make some permanent deals in January.

Pools had Jonathan Greening in for training yesterday. The experienced midfielder played for Pools  against Middlesbrough in pre-season, but opted to try his hand elsewhere.

Cooper insisted “When he came in pre-season he was offered one or two things but they haven’t quite happened.

“I have offered him the chance to come and train. As a footballer, at this stage of the season, the last thing you need is to be sat on your backside.

“As a bloke he is great, he comes in and is really enthusiastic about his job.

“He still had his kit from last time he was here so I said why don’t you bring it in and come and have some training!

“It is as simple as that. He is in to keep ticking over.

“If anything happens here great, if not, he is just a footballer that wants to train.”

Greening would add some more experience to the squad and Cooper is out to add to it in the coming weeks and months.

And Cooper admitted: “From my point of view, as I said before, I am still phoning lots of people about players - both permanent and loan.

“Within Financial Fair Play regulations I am pretty much on the limit.

“We try and get players in from near and afar that will help us through and we get to January hopefully get the opportunity to bring one or two in permanently.

“As for losing players, being honest, players in League Two with the ability to play higher you don’t want to lose them, but you want to see them progress.”

After losing James, who scored on his Posh debut in midweek against Orient in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy, Pools have a big hole in their squad to fill.

Cooper said: “Luke going, we have lost 16 goals.  He is a great kid, an absolute diamond to work with.

“As I have said many time, he looks in your eyes and is eager to learn, but when I looked in his eyes this time he was eager to play somewhere else.

“For him it’s the excitement of the next step, for me it’s about signing players to address the balance.

“We would all be very naive if we thought it was last minute. He expressed a wish to leave early. So it was always a case of getting the right deal for Hartlepool, not if it would go through.’’