A HOST of players are waiting in the wings to be part of this season's Newcastle Jesters squad as the pay saga appeared to be approaching an end.

Ice Hockey Superleague (ISL) bosses are already working on a pile of work permit and player registration forms submitted by director of hockey Glenn Mulvenna in anticipation of the registration ban being lifted soon.

He was told on Monday to start signing players by the board of directors and quickly announced he had ten players in the bag, rumoured to include former Newcastle favourites Mikko Koivunoro and David Clarke.

And further names are being hotly linked with the club.

These include former Belfast Giants and Tampa Bay Lightening NHL netminder Derek Wilkinson, 27, and left winger Jason Weaver, 28, formerly of the Sheffield Steelers and Nottingham Panthers.

Also hotly tipped for a Tyneside return is former Riverkings right winger Rob Trumbley, 26, who has spent time with Ayr Scottish Eagles and Manchester Storm since leaving the Telewest Arena.

A fourth name doing the rounds is Troy Neumeier, a 30-year-old former Manchester Storm defenceman who, like Trumbley, was a draft pick for the Vancouver Canucks in the NHL during the 90s.

Although the official word from the Ice Hockey Players' Association last night was that the unpaid £150,000 was still to change hands, an ISL spokeswoman said progress could be made on the applications.

However, no players' applications could actually be processed and registered until the money was paid.