DON'T be surprised if Gordon Strachan dips down into the Nationwide League this summer to strengthen his Saints squad for next season's assault on four competitions.

The Saints boss has shown he is not scared to buy players who have never appeared in the Premiership before - witness his £1.75m splash on Brett Ormerod from Blackpool in November, 2001.

He also signed utility player David Prutton from Nottingham Forest last January

And, when Strachan was boss at Coventry he signed Republic of Ireland international Robbie Keane and striker Lee Hughes from First Division clubs Wolves and West Brom respectively.

Bearing in mind Strachan's desire to add to his striking options this summer, where could he spend some of the £24m that Saints have raked in from various sources in 2002/03?

This is the time of the year when all football supporters play the guessing game, wondering which areas and which players their favourite team could sign.

Though Saints have bought well from Scandanavia - Claus Lundekvam, Michael Svensson, Antti Niemi - Strachan could look closer to home for new blood.

He has gone on record as saying that Saints' scouts had identified 33 possible transfer targets plying their trade in the Nationwide League First Division.

He said: "Premiership clubs might be tempted to put more Division One players in their transfer market shopping trolleys now.

"In the recent past, our reluctance to do so has been due mainly to the fees demanded for these players.

"That situation has started to change. Nationwide clubs are adopting a more realistic attitude in valuing their players."

Strachan is an admirer of Crewe's promising striker Dean Ashton, while Luke Beckett scored over 30 goals in the Second Division for Stockport.

Bobby Zamora, meanwhile, could be set to leave relegated Brighton with Tottenham rumoured to be leading the chase, but if Strachan is looking for potential then Zamora could be a target.

Elsewhere, Strachan could move for West Bromwich Albion's Welsh international midfielder Jason Koumas, a massive hit at The Hawthorns following his switch from Tranmere.

Norwich City's Adam Drury and Trevor Sinclair at relegated West Ham could be options if Strachan decides he needs more options or cover on the left hand side.

Other First Division targets might be Sheffield United's Michael Brown, who impresses Strachan because: "of his changes of pace, aggressiveness and ability to score goals,", and striker Marlon Harewood, who played with Prutton at Forest.

If he is looking for more experienced names to help provide extra firepower, Carl Cort of Newcastle appears out of favour.

The former Wimbledon man is in the 'big and bustling' mode of Celtic's John Hartson and Dion Dublin at Aston Villa - two players who Strachan signed for Coventry during his time at Highfield Road.

Dublin, in fact, was the only player in the Premiership last season to score more than 12 goals in all competitions who had ever played in the Nationwide League at any stage of their career.

That statistic shows how clubs have either relied upon expensive foreign recruits - van Nistelrooy, Henry, Viduka, Pires, Floyd Hasselbaink - or products from Premiership youth systems like James Beattie, Alan Shearer and Michael Owen.

Should Strachan look to bolster his goalkeeping options if Paul Jones departs to seek the first team slot he needs to keep alive his Euro 2004 ambitions, he could be interested in Hadjuk Split's Croatian international Stipe Pletikosa.

Strachan is a long-time admirer of the shot-stopper, who would cost around £1m but is also rumoured to be a transfer target of Pompey chief Harry Redknapp.