Manager Mick McCarthy has confirmed that he spoke to owner Marcus Evans about his plans for the future earlier in the week, as we reported on Wednesday. The Blues boss believes he has the “nucleus” of a team already at the club.
McCarthy said: "I spoke to Marcus this week but not particularly about the budget just about going forward, what my thoughts are, and I’ll be having more chats with him.”
He says the discussions progressed amicably: "There’s no real point in jarring over it, is there? We only went for one chat, there’s no point in falling out with anybody over one!
"I don’t have my head in the clouds. If you can do it, do it to the best of your ability, but don’t go asking for things which are completely outside the budget, want to do things which aren’t possible because that’s just stupid. I might be a lot of things but stupid isn’t one of them.”
The Blues boss says there’s already the core of a side at the club upon which he will build over the summer: "The nucleus of the team is still there — Loachy, Tommy Smith, Luke Chambers, Cressy, Carlos Edwards, Luke Hyam, Frank Nouble.
"So there’s seven of them and that’s the team, then there’s Tabby and Stears, Murphy and Guirane N’Daw, and that’s been a fairly settled [side].
"The [loanees] are out of contract [except for Richard Stearman] but have to go back to their loan clubs. Who knows, we might be able to do something with them. And if we can and get a similar set-up, my expectations will be high.”
He says he’s not sure when the first addition of the summer might be made: "I don’t know, asap, I guess, but then there’s the other side of that — if you get agreements with them and sign them you end up paying them through the summer when we’re not playing them. I can assure you nobody wants to do that!
"And yet the players who are coming out of contract, they want to get sorted out as quickly as possible.
"I don’t know, but we’ll be looking and trying to get them done as quickly as possible, certainly for pre-season. We want to take them away with us.”
McCarthy doesn’t expect to have huge sums to splash out during the close season, agreeing that a "sensible spend” is an accurate picture of the summer’s planned business: "I think that’s a good description.
"I think other people are going to have to be looking at themselves as well, if the Financial Fair Play rules are going to be as they have been explained to me. Some will be ridiculously overspent already.
"It doesn’t worry me that. I’m cool, kind of pragmatic, whatever I get I deal with it in the best possible way. And it’ll be no different this summer.”
He added: "There’s more sense of achievement when you do it on a reasonable budget, I think. I guess that’s what we’ll have to do.
"I’m fine, we’ve got a good nucleus of a side and we’ve got to add to it. Recruitment, as ever, will be vital.”
With plenty of players out of contract this summer, he anticipates a number of Bosman signings with the Blues understood to be frontrunners to sign exiting Notts County midfielder Alan Judge having held talks with the Irishman with Charlton also interested.
"There are a lot of Bosmans and hopefully we can pick some good ones up,” said McCarthy, who likes to keep his transfer targets close to his chest.
"Buying them’s easy. If you’ve got the dough to go and buy them, that’s a doddle. Just go to a club and say ‘Will you sell him?’ If they say ‘Yeah’, ask how much it is, ‘Well we’ll give you that’. They say no, then you keep bidding and be daft. That’s the easy part if you’ve got enough money.
"The hard part is picking them up on Bosmans, convincing them to come. I think plenty will come though. You ask any of the players who are here, they’re all loving it. They’re all full of it, so hopefully we’ll get some good ones.”
With his former club Wolves appearing certain to drop into League One, there has been speculation that he might target some of his players from his days at Molineux.
But while Stearman is likely to be on his wish list, he says he’s unlikely to make too many overtures in that direction, questioning the suggestion of "quality” in their ranks given their current parlous position.
"Apparent quality in their squad,” he corrected. "They’re getting relegated by the looks of things.
"Yes, they’ve got good players but that doesn’t mean to say I’m going to go tripping back there to sign them and who’s to know what they’re going to cost and what wages they’re on anyway. I’m not thinking that’s my fishing ground at all, not whatsoever.”
Town’s climb from rock bottom to 11th this season has led to increased expectation amongst fans, something McCarthy says he doesn’t make too much of an effort to temper: "How do I manage it? I don’t really bother.
"I just go out and do what I do and do my best. Me and TC will crack on next year and coach them and manage them. Hopefully we’ll have some good recruitment in the summer that can help make us better.”
The Blues boss has no plans to stick around for too long after the season's end on Saturday with a holiday planned, but as with all managers he’ll not be taking a complete break: "You’re always working. I take my work with me, I’ll have my phone with me, that’s the biggest part of it.
"People say to me on holiday that the phone must be a pain, but not really because if I hadn’t got one I’d be in the office taking calls on the landline rather than on the beach with a bottle of beer in my hand talking to someone. Which suits me fine!”