Boss Paul Jewell says he’s not spoken to any of his still-in-contract players about them potentially leaving the club over the summer. With at least one striker targeted, the futures of Jason Scotland and Tamás Priskin would both appear to be in doubt, while versatile Canadian international Jaime Peters has appeared only fleetingly since the change of manager at Portman Road.
Jewell says he’s currently focusing on signing players rather than moving them on: "I’m more concerned with getting people in rather than getting people out. I want to bring players in and add goals to the team and not just that, people who can make more goals and keep them out at the other end.
"It’s not about getting players out now, it’s about getting players in. But every player at every football club is open to offer, whoever that player is. If someone rings up and offers a good deal for one of the players, you have to listen.
"But I haven’t ruled anyone out of my plans for next season. I’m more interested in getting people in, we’re looking light on numbers. The most important thing now is to get players in who are going to take us forward and the biggest thing we need is a goalscorer.”
Priskin spent the latter part of the season on loan at Swansea until a knee injury sidelined him with Swans manager Brendan Rodgers undecided on whether to keep him. Whether the Welshmen reach the Premier League via the play-offs will be a factor in whether Rodgers tries to sign his former Watford player on a permanent basis.
Scotland was also a Swansea target last season, but the Hungarian would appear more likely to find himself back at the Liberty Stadium next season than the Trinidadian.
Jewell says he’s determined to rid Town of the ‘nice’ image that his predecessor Roy Keane mentioned on a number of occasions: "I think lots of managers have said before me that this is a brilliant football club but it’s a bit ‘nice’.
"We’ve got great support, a real family environment and it’s important that we keep that, but on the pitch we’ve got to be tougher.”
The former Bradford, Sheffield Wednesday, Wigan and Derby boss says he loves the cut and thrust of transfer business: "It’s always an exciting challenge for a manager to build a team.
"I’m looking forward to wheeling and dealing and trying to get the players in that I think will take us forward. It’s not going to be easy because we’ll all be chasing the same players.”