JOHN Ward has dismissed rumours that he is interested in signing former Ipswich Town striker Alan Lee.

Ward wants to increase his strike-force options ahead of the new season, but target man Lee is not on his hit-list.

The U’s boss is happy with all other areas of the pitch, although he could do with some extra help for front-men Steven Gillespie and Kayode Odejayi.

“There is no truth in the rumour about Alan Lee,” insisted Ward.

“I have denied that already, although I know he’s still got his house in Dedham. I don’t know where that rumour came from.”

Lee, 32, played more than 100 league games for Town between 2006 and ’08 before moving to Crystal Palace.

He turned out for Huddersfield Town last season, playing 30 games in League One for the Terriers, and still has one year left on his current two-year deal.

Ward is in no mad rush to sign a new striker, although he would like to have a new recruit before the opening day trip to Preston.

“I want to improve the strike-force a little bit, I’ve made no secret of that,” continued Ward.

“But I am not in any hurry to do that. If it happens really quickly then great, I’ll be really happy, but I can be very patient about it.

“I keep using (David) Mooney as an example of that. He only came in a few days before we played at Exeter (first day of last season), so it can happen late.

“It will happen, there will be a player to come in to help us out.

“But we want (Steven) Gillespie to have a chance to play. Kayode (Odejayi) is a different type of player, but there’s a nice complement of each other.

“I want a new player to help that and compete, not replace,” added Ward.