Boss Paul Cook says the Blues’ pre-season plans are 90-to-95 per cent already in place with the squad set to be back at Playford Road to get their preparations for the new campaign under way six weeks prior to 2021/22's start on the weekend of Saturday 7th August.
"As far as I’m aware I think nearly probably 90 per cent, 95 per cent is absolutely nailed down and done in terms of dates back, in terms of where we’re going, who we’re playing etc,” he said.
"I’m sure the club will be announcing all that stuff at some point because I think one of the most exciting things at the minute is the fact that fans are going to return. We’re all desperate for fans to return to football.
"I pride myself on fitness, I think as a manager, a coach, a club we want to know that our players will run a race, if you like.
"Football and sport now is an industry where data and analysis is so readily available and that comes from training, and we’ve got to work really hard.
"As you guys know, everyone wants to beat Ipswich and this team. Everyone wants to beat Sunderland, everyone wants to beat Portsmouth. That’s just part and parcel of working and playing and being involved with big clubs.
"So we’ve got to make sure that everything we can do that gives us that chance to just get ahead of our opposition, we make sure we do it.”
Asked when precisely the squad will be back, Cook says that will be in the final week of June: "I’d love to tell you the date, we actually report back six weeks before the start of the season [on August 7th], so whatever date that is, you can look at it six weeks before that.
"The reality for the lads is that they will have six weeks of intense training, doing all the tactics, all the fitness, all everything that we expect from them in the season.
"That first game of the season, hopefully we’re drawn at home. Hopefully to another big club in the league, ie whoever comes down, and we can see a packed Portman Road with a team on the pitch that we’re all excited about and looking forward to watching play.”
Cook says that it’s unlikely there’ll be the usual pre-season training camp due to the pandemic.
"With what’s gone on in the world, possibly not,” he said. "A training camp is something that I do enjoy, especially if new players have come in.
"But fortunately we’re at hopefully the end of Covid nearly, aren’t we? The lights have just started flickering. Hopefully that can be a great day. But that will probably result in us staying at home this summer, I would imagine.”