CEO Mark Ashton says he’s hopeful Town will make further additions fairly shortly and that tireless work is going on behind the scenes as the Blues look to overhaul the squad ahead of the start of the season.

Town have so far only signed forward Wes Burns from Fleetwood and midfielder Lee Evans from Wigan, while West Brom’s Rekeem Harper is set to become the third new recruit as soon as West Brom rubber-stamp the move which is set to happen once they have confirmed their new manager.

Speaking to the Mark Murphy breakfast show on Radio Suffolk (3hs 11mins 27secs), Ashton said that further signings aren’t too far away.

“We came in as an ownership group, we’ve made some decisions on the playing side to let a number of players go, there's going to be a heavy turnaround of players,” he said.

“We’ve got a couple in already, there are more to come. As soon we’ve got them, as soon as they’re across the line, the fans will be the first to know.

“We are working tirelessly behind the scenes to get a number of players in and I’m quite hopeful we’ll have some new names arriving fairly shortly here.

“Paul [Cook] will be given the squad and team that he needs to win games. I think if we win games the fans will be behind us.”

Is he concerned that the signings might take a while to gel? “It always takes a little bit of time but it’s a long season.

“Looking at the fixture list. With all the cup competitions, we start in round one of the FA Cup, the Papa John’s and the Carabao Cup, the league, there are a lot of games and it’s going to take a little time I would think to bed everyone in.

“But I expect us to be really strong, be right at the top end of this division and competing for promotion.”

He added: “I think the whole pandemic has thrown football recruitment into the air at a lot of a football clubs. There have been managerial changes, there are clubs every year promoted and relegated.

“It takes a little bit of time to settle at the start of the season. It’s probably after eight or 10 games who’s who and what the squads are really like. But I expect us to be strong, I expect us to be competitive.

“What we’ve got to do is make Portman Road a fortress. We need the fans behind us, we need them in in as big a numbers as we can. We need the prime minister help us as we need to get fans back in to stadiums. This place can be a fortress. This place can help us win games of football and we need the fans back.”

Regarding the fixture list which was announced at 9am this morning, he said: "It’s suddenly become very real. I’m really excited. It was great to see we get off to a home opener here at Portman Road and just I think that once the fixture list comes out, it focuses minds because the clock is ticking to the opening day and we’re really excited.

“[Starting at home against Morecambe is] a great opportunity for us because we’re going to get the fans back.

“We’re still not sure until the prime minister makes his announcement how many we will get back, but just to get fans in serious numbers back into Portman Road I just think will be fantastic for everyone.”

He continued: “You always look at the first game, are you home, are you away? It’s great to get a home game to start with.

“Then you look at the big clubs, November and December, away against Sunderland, home against Sunderland.

“We go into the Christmas period, we’re at home on January 1st against Lincoln, who did so well under Michael Appleton last season. That’ll be a big game.

“Then you take a little look at the run-in and that’s interesting. We’ve got Wigan and Charlton at home in that last month of the season. They could be big games."

Photo: TWTD

Tractor_Boy_in_HK added 03:52 - Jun 25 We didn't have a squad of championship players last year - look at where they're heading now - we had a League 2 squad, but constantly fooled ourselves into believing they were Championship quality. Looking forward to the next few signings, and expect some real quality. Have to say though, I'm a little confused with Lankester departure - wages won't even count against the cap.

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BettyBlue added 08:17 - Jun 25 Who would sign for a club who sacks its whole squad, gets rid of any potential talent and has no players in the first team?
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BettyBlue added 08:18 - Jun 25 Although we had a crap manager and team they did finish 9th without trying.
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BettyBlue added 08:19 - Jun 25 I have no confidence in Paul Cook and our new owners to bring in decent players.
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blueboy1981 added 12:23 - Jun 25 A few ‘uncertainties ‘ - that's for sure - and can't be denied or overlooked !!
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