SAINTS boss Stuart Gray will step up his attempts to boost his side's fire-power by hunting down a striker.

After losing out to the wage demands of one German striker in Oliver Bierhoff, Gray's focus was sharpened after another, Uwe Rosler, put his hand up for a miss that might have changed the course of Saints' opening day defeat at Leeds.

Gray said: "You live and die by your strikers and you don't have to be a football coach to see that we're a bit short up front."

Gray has shown that he's not afraid to spend big after smashing the club's transfer record with the £4m signing of Rory Delap and his audacious bid to bring German captain Bierhoff to the Friends Provident St Mary's Stadium hints at the calibre of player he is looking at.

Saints' striking resources allow little margin for loss of form or injury, and Gray would be keen to bring in another striker if only to put a bit of pressure on his current hitmen.

Rosler's pre-season displays meant Gray had little hesitation in giving him the nod over James Beattie.

The big German impressed on his first Premiership start for 11 months but was big enough to admit that his performance would count for nothing when measured up against his failure to net when clean through against Nigel Martyn, when the game was still scoreless.

"I might have played well but I accept that strikers are judged in the end by what they do in front of goal and I should have scored from that position

"Maybe I had too much time in front of goal and, although it was a good save, I really should have scored, especially at a place like Leeds where you don't get too many chances.

"I was pleased to be given a starting role by Stuart. That's what I have been working for. But I was disappointed with the result."

That disappointment was shared by Gray, who managed to draw some positives from the defeat.

"I was pleased with the performance, our defending was excellent.

"I thought we matched them, we competed very well against them. They're a quality side with quality players and to bring Alan Smith off the bench just proves that.

"The dressing-room was very quiet as the players knew they deserved something out of the game.

"But you know that with Leeds the game now lasts for 95 minutes and you need full concentration for all that time."

The defeat also provided Gray with the added problem of finding a short-term defensive replacement for Claus Lundekvam who will be suspended following his injury-time dismissal for his last-man foul on Harry Kewell.

"Personally I would have liked to have seen a bit of common sense but that is the law of the game and Claus had to go," said Gray, who is likely to lose Lundekvam to a one-match suspension that will rule him out of the trip to Tottenham on September 9.

Click reports link on the left-hand panel for Leeds V. Saints match report.