LEAGUE OF IRELAND:With a couple of weeks to go before the new league season gets under way, Sligo and Shamrock Rovers both moved to strengthen their squads yesterday, with the league champions signing striker Anthony Elding and the Dublin side defender David Elebert.

“Anthony will bring a lot of strengths to our squad,” said Ian Baraclough of Elding, who arrives from Grimsby Town having previously had spells with Preston North End, Leeds United and Hungarian side Ferencvaros.

“He has a good record of scoring goals in the Football League, with around a one in three ratio. He has played with some very good clubs and has some great experience. Danny North is a couple of months away from returning and Anthony will hope to show what he can do. The prospect of the possibility of the two together later in the season is exciting. I think Anthony can make a big impact with us.”

Elebert, meanwhile, is a Dublin-born under-21 international who had a stint at Preston before playing for five seasons with Hamilton and, most recently, Fylkir in the Icelandic top flight.

UCD also added to their panel yesterday with Craig Walsh and Dinny Corcoran, who played at Longford and Bohemians respectively last season, signing up for the new campaign.