Marcus Bignot hasn’t ruled out the possibility of adding more new faces to his Chester FC squad but has switched his attention to trimming the group he has.

The Blues boss has brought in four new faces since arriving, loaning Offrande Zanzala and Reece Hall-Johnson from Derby County and Grimsby Town respectively and adding left-back Jordan Gough from AFC Telford United and striker Jordan Archer from Stourbridge on permanent deals.

The quartet have already made a difference to Bignot’s side and have fallen within his original remit of ‘beg, steal and borrow’ when it came to adding new faces.

But while the Chester journey has just started for some, it could be coming to an end in the not too distant future for others.

Teenage academy graduates Matty Waters and Tom Crawford have gone out on loan in order to get some much-needed playing time, with Waters heading to Evo-Stik Northern Premier League side Sutton Coldfield Town and Crawford to North West Counties outfit Runcorn Town.

Waters and Crawford’s loans have been arranged in order to aid their Blues development, but there could be permanent departures in the offing for others.

“It’s important that I spoke with the players at the earliest opportunity and there are some who will be surplus to requirements and those conversations have taken place,” said Bignot.

“We’re in the process now of speaking to agents and interested clubs to see what we can do for them as it is in the best interests of every footballer to be out there playing.

“As for bringing in new players, my remit was very much to beg, steal and borrow and work with the group that I inherited.

“The players have been excellent for me since I have come in and the four players that we have added have enhanced us and given us that bit of help that we needed. But if there is a player who we think can really help us further and we are able to do something then it is something we will look at.”

Bignot’s side were beaten in agonising fashion at Maidstone United on Saturday when Alex Finney’s 94th-minute strike earned the Stones the three points at the Gallagher Stadium and saw Chester drop back into the bottom four in the Vanarama National League.

Chester head to Eastleigh on Saturday (3pm) for their rearranged game with the Spitfires – the only National League game taking place on FA Cup first round day. And, with the game representing Bignot’s side with another chance to get out of the relegation zone, it is one that the Chester manager is keen to see his side grasp.

“The pleasing aspect is that we have had two back-to-back performances for the first time since I arrived and I think that shows that we are making progress as a group,” said the Blues manager.

“It is our game in hand and it is a chance for us to claw back some ground on the teams above us.

“We’ve got the derby with Wrexham on the following Wednesday and they are two games that I am looking forward to and two games that we believe we can get results from and get ourselves climbing up that table.”