Blues boss Paul Jewell says he hopes to speak to a couple of transfer targets this week and also receive permission to talk to two more. The Town manager sees adding to his striking ranks as the priority but wants five or six players across his squad, including a replacement for departing central defender Gareth McAuley.
Jewell says adding a goal threat for next season is the most significant task: "That’s the main area of concern, although obviously we’ve got to replace Gareth and we will be bringing in other players in other positions. But the one that we need is that 20-goal-a-season man.
"I don’t know whether there’ll be anyone in this week. We want to speak to a couple of players this week and we’re hoping to get permission to speak to a couple more.
"I’d like to do it as quickly as possible. My experience tells me that that doesn’t always happen, but if we were to get a couple of key signings in early on it would help us get better players in later on in the summer.”
The Liverpudlian has favoured a 4-4-2 formation in the past with his more successful sides, but feels that with most teams in the Championship playing a variation of 4-3-3/4-5-1, you can’t be rigidly tied to one system: "I think we’ve got to be flexible. I did say that the Bradford and Wigan teams we got promoted from the Championship were 4-4-2 teams with two strikers who got 50 goals between them and a wide player that got us 15.
"Whatever system we play we’ve got to make sure we score goals. We’ve conceded goals in the last few games but one of the reasons we are where we are is that we’re not a goal threat enough of the time."
The current squad were debriefed yesterday before being sent away for the summer with personally tailored fitness plans: "The players have been sent away with their own individual programmes.
"I’ve given the players the targets they’ve got to reach physically and if they want to be part of it, great, if they don’t want to be part of it, if it’s too difficult or too hard for you, we won’t fall out about it, knock on my door and come and tell me and let’s move you on.
"To be part of what we want to do next year, we’ve got to improve on what we’ve seen this season.”