Boss Paul Cook says the Blues’ summer recruitment drive isn’t over and has given the players currently training with the U23s a glimmer of hope that they could still get themselves in his plans.

Town have made six signings so far this summer, while 20 players with professional contracts plus the four remaining loanees have departed.

As reported last week, a number of players previously in the first-team squad, including Flynn Downes, Kayden Jackson, Teddy Bishop, Myles Kenlock and Brett McGavin, are training with the U23s, Cook having told them that they can find new clubs at the end of last season.

The Blues boss says there are more additions to come and that those out of favour can get themselves back into his thoughts.

“Certainly our recruitment drive hasn’t stopped yet, we are still very, very active as I think our supporters will be delighted to know,” he told iFollow Ipswich.

“And also, what I must add, the door is never shut on a player. I must add that. My drastic action at the end of the year, there were a lot of thoughtful processes, sleepless nights, disappointment, personal pride, personal pain and the bigger picture of the football club.

“So whilst any lads here, wherever they may be training, the door will always be ajar because if you have the right habits, if you have the right desire and the right ambition, then you can always take a step forward.”

In addition to the changes among the playing staff, there have also been changes off it with Franny Jeffers rejoining the club as a first-team coach and Ian Craney coming in as a coach.

Andy Rolls has been appointed the director of performance with Andy Costin the head of sports science and Jon Ashton the fitness coach.

Asked how the start of pre-season training, which started earlier in the week, has gone, Cook said: “Exciting, the staff have obviously been coming in quite regularly over the summer. For a footballer today, people don’t realise the dietary stuff, the physical aspects, the tactical aspects, the training, gym work, the strength and conditioning. To be a footballer today you’ve got to be good at a lot of things.

“And we’ve put together a staff that we believe can give every player at our club, and that’s every player, not just the ones in the first-team squad, the ones in the U23s, the ones that are out of favour at the minute, we can give them every platform to try be successful but they’ve got to want to have that platform.

“It’s not good having the best things in place if people don’t want to learn or want to get better.”

Town play their first pre-season friendly at Dartford a week on Saturday. Would Cook like to have more signings in before then? “As manager of the club, I’m delighted with the position we’re in today. I’m delighted with the season ticket sales, the reception that every one of the staff’s been getting, the players coming back, the drive the desire. We want to be successful.

“It’s not going to happen overnight. There’s no way I’m going to sit in front of any camera and tell you ‘watch us and the magic will come’. We’re working hard and as we work hard behind the scenes, [CEO] Mark [Ashton] doesn’t have many good sleeps at night at the minute, I think he’s got a lot on his plate and I know football recruitment is very high on it.

“I think our supporters can be assured that going forward there will be new signings coming into the football club.”

Photo: ITFC

KernewekBlue added 00:56 - Jul 2 DaGremloid... The enthusiasm shown when Hurst took charge was down to the fact most fans had had enough of McCarthy's prehistoric, hoofball tactics and his disdain for the fans demanding more from the team than they were getting served each week. Turning on the fans in the stands and mouthing obscenities at them was the last straw and he had to go. Even though I disliked McCarthy's attitude and the style of football he played, he did know how to keep the team rolling in The Championship with little to no monetary investment (and even less entertainment value). In desperation, Evans then took a punt on Hurst because he was the cheap option and was eager to try his hand in a higher league, albeit on a shoestring budget, for which Evans clenched the purse strings with an iron fist. Hurst had little option but to cut his cloth accordingly, scouring the bargain basement bins for playing talent whilst shipping out the most effective incumbent squad members for below par fees, no doubt overseen by Evans himself. It was always a project that was doomed to failure... like every other decision made by Evans, it was a half-arsed, botched attempt at getting away with something on the cheap! This latest attempt to get us moving forward doesn't feel like that at all. It feels like the new owners and management have a REAL plan of action, which they've implemented and worked on carefully, selecting the right candidates for the right reasons, using statistics to identify targets who will fit the style and ethos of the club and its ambitions. So no, I don't think it is right to compare this new enthusiasm with that generated by Paul Hurst's appointment. This new found optimism is based around a much stronger feeling of sound investment, renewed hope and owners showing some real ambition. As Paul Cook said, though, this whole new process will need time to work... time that some people here will have no patience for. The perennial moaners like BettyBlue and Monkey_Blue will try to drag the mood down to their level, where the shadows loom long and their faces even longer. As long as our optimism and patience can outweigh their negative vibes, we stand a very good chance of escaping this League One nightmare in the next couple of seasons. I have every hope we can now accomplish our shared goal of promotion back to The Championship and beyond. COYB

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shakytown added 02:15 - Jul 2 Could everyone please send Phil Ham a complaint about the infantile trolls we have have and hopefully he will ban them from the site. Just use the contact us option and say who they are. Ive done it and he agrees they are trolls but they keep appearing so weight of numbers will get rid of the sad little blips.
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BcarefulwhatUWish4 added 05:06 - Jul 2 Have a word with him- accidentally marked your comment down, apologies. Still think we need a CD, Striker and LB at bare minimum at the moment. Hopefully we will bring in more than just those 3. The more we recruit, the more players from last season will realise that their time is up at ITFC. Some of those players do need to move on, both for their own careers and us.

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BotesdaleBlue added 07:11 - Jul 2 KernewekBlue - An excellent summation of our current position. I agree 100%.
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Europablue added 07:27 - Jul 2 I think he put Dobra in with the U23s so that he could use him as an example of someone with the right attitude getting promoted to the first team. I might question his methods, but we are judging him by his results, so as long as he isn't doing anything abhorrent, I'm going to support him in general even when I don't agree with some of his decisions.
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itsonlyme added 08:26 - Jul 2 Kernewekblue- well said and 100% correct.
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Rootshall91 added 09:54 - Jul 2 Nobody should be too worried about the coaches lack of experience - Paul Cook knows better than us and has a proven track record of developing coaches.
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IpswichT62OldBoy added 10:47 - Jul 2 He does what he says he will do. He is getting the support he needs to build a team that is capable of playing football. Worth noting where the heroes of the past 3 seasons are playing now and that Dobra was rewarded for caring enough to work his nuts off
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Oldboy added 12:00 - Jul 2 Who is organising the promotion party? Going to be a great season. Bring it on.
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bluesteel added 12:16 - Jul 2 How exactly to pull a handbrake turn smoothly and consistently.
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markchips added 12:48 - Jul 2 Looking forward to a few more signings during the next week especially in forward areas as we have already lost Sears, Drinan, Lankester and Hawkins with Bishop to follow.
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runningout added 13:43 - Jul 2 Any professional footballer with an ounce of pride, works their socks in training and if you want something and have true ability you will go places. Or stay if the case may be. Afraid our club was damaged by poor appointments. Only now when things turned harsh we realised how weak our squad had become
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