Boss Paul Cook is delighted to have competition in goal having signed Christian Walton on loan from Brighton a couple of days before the deadline, having already added Vaclav Hladky from Salford earlier in the window and with Tomas Holy still at the club.
Walton, 25, previously played for Cook at Wigan and was part of his side which won the League One title in 2017/18 and spent another campaign on loan with the Latics as they successfully retained their place in the Championship the following year.
"In Christian, a lad who has been promoted at Wigan, went on to play for Blackburn in the Championship,” Cook said.
"He has had promotions, has been successful and brings that winning mentality to a new group and that’s something that we probably lacked in the early games, that real winning mentality, those leadership qualities that we need on a football pitch.”
Reflecting on the competition in goal, Cook added: "You know the goalkeeping situation has been with Vaz [Hladky] coming in, Tomas was in a situation where he couldn't have possibly left and maybe not left.
"Tomas has been terrific, absolutely outstanding and he trains every day like it's the last. His appetite for the game has been brilliant.
"Vaz has probably had more of a tough introduction, but again he's an outstanding goalkeeper and he proved that last year at Salford.
"In Christian, we took an opportunity to bring another goalkeeper I've worked with previously at Wigan Athletic and I know inside out.
"So we are now very strong in every area of the pitch, and that's what I love, I love that competition for places because as you know yourselves, I won't say I never will, but I don't really change winning teams.
"So if you get your shirt and we're winning, the reality is you're going to keep it for as long as we keep winning.”
Cook says there’s no out-and-out number one as such: "If you have number ones and twos in football, then you're categorising people. I don't believe in that.
"We've got competition for places all over the pitch. If you look at central midfield, Tom Carroll has had two outstanding training weeks now, Tom Carroll has been absolutely excellent. Jon Nolan is back training, Idris [El Mizouni] has been outstanding all pre-season.
"We've got players and training is lively, let me tell you, and that's what we want. We want this club to grow now.”