Blues boss Mick McCarthy admits he’s frustrated not to have made further additions to his squad and says deals have broken down "for various reasons” this summer. McCarthy’s record Town signing Adam Webster, who joined from Portsmouth for £700,000 plus Matt Clarke, and former loanee Paul Digby, who was recruited on a free transfer from Barnsley, are the only signings so far this summer.

“Still working on it, hopefully we’ll get something but at the moment there’s nothing happening,” he said after Saturday’s 1-1 friendly draw at Cambridge United.

“We’ve tried and can’t do it at the moment, so we’ll just keep trying. There’s a bit of frustration but that’s not through lack of trying. [Deals haven’t come off] for various reasons.”

He added: “It’s not through want of trying, far from it, that’s the frustration, not with anybody else, not with the club, not with [owner] Marcus [Evans], just the fact that we can’t get anything done.

“And a lot of it stems from a lot of players being away on pre-season and we’ll just have to wait.”

He admits he would have liked more signings in by this point but says it’s not a huge concern that new players will now come in with the season about to start or already under way.

“Yes I would, but I take the view that they’re all doing pre-season elsewhere. So if we get one in the week leading up to the start of the season, or even the week after, they’ve all done their pre-season, they’ll all be fit, they’ll all be ready to go.”

Lack of signings wasn’t the only reason McCarthy was frustrated at Cambridge on Saturday, the Blues boss having been angry that his team was unable to hold on to their lead, Joe Pigott netting an equaliser a minute from the end after Andre Dozzell had put the Blues in front on 83.

“The game is coming to an end and we’re keeping the ball but we’re not going anywhere with it,” he said.

“And we kept it and kept it and passed it and it gradually slowed down to where we gave the ball away here and it ended up in our net. It’s just unacceptable.

“It was collective responsibility for slowing it down so much and not passing like we’ve tried to do. One stray pass and they break up the field and it ends up in our net. Not good enough.

“I’m not going to start accepting that, we had too many goals against us late in games last year for whatever reason, whether it was a freekick or a corner, I’m not bothered, we can’t afford to do that. So I might as well start snarling about it now. I don’t want to see that again.

“I think they were trying to be sensible in keeping the ball but it wasn’t going anywhere, it was just nothing and we probably got our just desserts.”

He added: “It’s important for our fans [to win]. This could have been a cup game on a Tuesday night, we could have come away, we don’t want a replay and we end up with a poxy replay and then we’ve got another game and then we’re playing on the Saturday.

“We’ve got to win that game. What was it 88 minutes or 89 minutes? You’ve got to win the game. That’s unacceptable.

“I had a few words with one or two of them. I’ll be all right on Monday when I see them, I’ll be back at it, but as a collective thing, as a team, we can’t do that. You’ve just got to manage the game.

“Even if it’s somebody on the pitch who says, hold on a minute, come on, do it properly. And we didn’t.

“I’ve just said to them, we’ve got Barnsley at home on the opening day who’ll be breathing fire and brimstone. They’ve just got promoted, they got promoted well and finished the season brilliantly, so they’ve got momentum.

“That’s our home game and then we go to Brentford, who are spending money. Wolves have just been taken over and are spending, then Norwich at home. That’s a helluva start for us, so we need to be right at it from the very start.”

Town have two friendlies remaining, at Charlton on Tuesday and at home to Belgian side Royale Union Saint-Gilloise next Saturday.

The Blues boss says he'll give players full games in those matches: “They’ll be getting 90 minutes, hopefully. Whether that’s the team that plays [against Barnsley] is another matter.”

Photo: Action Images

brittaniaman added 20:54 - Jul 25 Leeds are having no problems signing players this season with the 7th signing imminent ???? Gary Monk has certainly been busy in his short time there !!!!!
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blues1 added 20:54 - Jul 25 Jas0999. Yes, Blackburn offered Feeney more money but that wasn't the only reason he went there. He had agreed terms here so clearly Evans had in effect, done the deal. Think you'll find the fact he wouldn't have to move half the length of the country also played a part in Feeney's decision to sign for them.
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Surco72 added 20:56 - Jul 25 ArnieM ... I would have thought you would have liked the forum .... It matches the football MM produces and the transfer activity at the club every window BORING which you seem so happy with
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DirtyOldNodger added 21:12 - Jul 25 never heard so much wrist cuttingly miserable people talking in one place in all my life. cheer up lads its real life football, not Fifa!
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wayway added 21:20 - Jul 25 I have supported the Town all my life, I was there in 1960 when we won the old Second division championship, I was there in 1961 when we won the First division Championship, I was there when we won the F A cup and I was in Amsterdam when we won the UEFA cup. Now I do not care what happened under Keane and Jewell, they were poor appointments by corporate owners who knew (and still do not) know how football works. Am I alone in thinking the time has come for concerted action to be taken against these faceless people. Answer me this, how many businessmen, consortium have bought clubs and not invested in them? We are not Charlton or Leeds, we are IPSWICH TOWN and we deserve better than this Evans bunch. (There IS NO Marcus Evans). It is now time to put pressure on this bunch to sell the club to someone who will invest REAL money. It is time to stand up and be counted unless you are prepared to follow the club line like sheep as Essex57 and his like are prepared to do

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DirtyOldNodger added 21:27 - Jul 25 i think essex57 is a supporter of the club wayway. You sound as though you might have been once, but now spend too much time moaning about the club and have got stuck in your ways. Enjoy waving your banner for the Barnsley game, i'll try and keep an eye out for it!
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blueboy1981 added 22:08 - Jul 25 As long as the Turnstiles are open, and the Burger Van is on the Car Park - that's all that matters to some ITFC Supporters - problem is there's more of them than we think. That's one of the reasons why we are what we are.
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Pilgrimblue added 22:33 - Jul 25 So far MM has shown that he's got a team that can compete in Division 2. Great! Its about time that Evans made it clear what his plan is. If it's to invest in youth and not spend millions then we should be told. Then we can stop going on about transfers etc and accept that this is where our future lies. But nothing is being offered. MM claims he can't sign players due to various excuses, none of which are good enough. Other clubs have managed so what is the real reason MM? Where are our scouts, what are they doing or they just twiddling their thumbs waiting for instructions? Norwich has done great since they were relegated so maybe we need to follow suit in order to get rid of MM and to wake up ME.

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GiveusaWave added 00:12 - Jul 26 I think a fair few people here have forgotten that we do need space for youngsters to have involvement in the first team. It's understandable that there is some frustration as we appear to have lost out to the signings of Payne, Feeney, Foley and others, but this does allow youngsters a chance. In goal we have Bart and Gerken. Bart is amazing and Gerks can sometimes put together a good shift so we are fine there. In defence we have a settled back 4 who know how to launch the ball forwards quickly which is important to our team strategy. With Webster and Digby there we now have a Stronger defence than last season. And don't forget we have Emmanuel and Kenlock. In midfield, by losing Fraser, Pringle, Oar, AMN, Feeney, Foley, Toure, Tabb and others we now have SPACE for Dozzell, Benyu, Nydam, Blanchfield and Pattersen to be included in our midfield. We also still have Hyam, Skuse, Douglas and Coke all of which have good experience at this level. Sears can also play left wing as can Cameron Stewart. Bishop can play right wing if required. Up front we have lost Varney. Supporters have been crying out for Ben Morris to have an opportunity in the first team so this gives him that role. Murphy, Mcgoldrick, Pittman and Sears/Morris is a good combination up front. I honestly think the main issue is expectation yet again. Most people here seem to think it is our God-given right to be in the top 6. There are clearly better squads in this division and it will be a miracle if we do end up in 6th. Honestly, I'd be very happy with a top half finish but having given the youngsters loads of opportunities to get used to Championship football. And by sticking to FFP we won't end up going the way of Portsmouth, Blackpool etc.

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Hegansheroes added 05:50 - Jul 26 Cats whiskers you are very very close to the truth re ITFC & ME. I do have certain sources who would confirm what you have said, I won't divulge who they are to protect their anonymity but basically the club is going to go no where under ME & MM who I now find to be becoming more & more arrogant & sickeningly tedious with his inane comments.
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Razor added 11:00 - Jul 26 I think this is possibly the most depressing club in the league to support right now. The manager wont play in cups so the fans get no excitement there and the owner refuses to spend any money on quality players. Other clubs are doing deals and it so so frustrating as the addition of just say 2 quality players would make us play off contenders. Without we are just treading water and mid table mediocrity again calls.

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MrDiddle added 15:10 - Jul 26 what a stupid comment hegansheroes. unless your "sources" are Marcus Evans, Mick McCarthy or Ian Milne and they have told you directly what the company strategy is for the next few years, you sir are talking utter BS! I too have a source at the club, a genuine one who is bound by a contract of employment that prevents the said person from divulging any club related matters to anybody... especially disgruntled whingy fans who post on fan sites purporting to know information they really don't.

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