Town boss Kieran McKenna says he’s “comfortable” with the squad he has but believes the Blues still “have scope for one or two more” ahead of the transfer window’s closure ext Thursday.

Quizzed on whether he expects and ins or outs before then and if there were no further additions whether he’s happy with the squad he’s got, McKenna said: “I think I’m comfortable with what we have. We had 20 outfielders training today, everybody fit, pretty much doubled up for each position and that’s a pretty good place to be.

“But on the other side, I don’t feel that the squad is too big. I think there are probably bigger squads out there, but at minute we’ve got everybody fit and available so it leaves us in a good position.

“I do think we still have scope for one or two more, it’s not about adding bodies at this stage, it’s about adding little pieces of quality or something a bit different which might add to the squad.

“But that’s something that we’re still working on and have worked on and if it happens and the right player’s available and we can get in the door before Thursday, then great. And if it doesn’t happen, I think we’ve got a really strong squad and a really good spirit and a lot of good things in the building that we’ll look to continue to build on.”

In terms of scope for making additions, the Blues currently have 18 players who would be part of the 22-man EFL squad which doesn’t include keepers or players aged under 21.

Town's priority is understood to have been another striker for much of the summer with Leicester's George Hirst having been top of their list. However, it appears the Blues may have shifted their focus to other potential recruits in recent weeks.

Is he looking forward to the window being closed? “I feel pretty settled, to be honest. I think that’s probably the case more so at other clubs maybe where there’s been a lot more change

“I think we managed to do a lot quite a bit early in the window. We’ve added a couple during pre-season, but in general the main nucleus of the squad has been in place and will be in place through to January.

“As I say, if we end up doing something late on in the next few days, I don’t expect it to rock or shift greatly what we’ll be doing as a team, as a club.

“Obviously there may be a little bit more clarity for a couple of players in different squads who are maybe on the fringes of things, but for me and the staff and the group of players we have here, I think everyone is really fully 100 per cent focused and settled on the objectives that we have.”

Has making early additions been a factor in why the Blues, who are top of the division by a point, have made such a promising start to the campaign?

“Possibly part of it,” he reflected. “I think having good consistency from last year has helped. I wouldn’t know the numbers but I would have thought a lot of the players who are starting on any given Saturday were here last year, so we have a fairly settled group of players and we’re pretty settled in terms of our style of play and how we train and how we do things here, so I think that consistency helps more than anything.

“And then the bodies that we’ve added, we managed to do some early in the window which isn’t always possible.

“But we managed to get some early and to get somebody like Greg Leigh, who did the whole pre-season with us, it’s easier for him to come into the team in the early games and do well as he has done than if he arrived much later.

“We’re pleased with that but it’s more about getting the right people in and whether that’s ones that we managed to do early or whether we make a late signing, it’s more about getting in hungry players who really want to be at the football club and want to be part of what we’re doing.”

Photo: TWTD

markchips added 15:03 - Aug 26 One more to go then.
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oldelsworthyfan added 15:54 - Aug 26 He is probably looking for character as much as ability and for someone who WANTS to play for us.
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ArnieM added 16:34 - Aug 26 Bonne?
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Billericay12 added 18:36 - Aug 26 Bonne ? Not for me as much as I love the fairytale of an Ipswich lad desperate to succeed at his hometown club I don't think he is the right fit. That said I'm not sure what is. Ladapo scored 20 goals last season but doesn't look like doing so this season. Maybe the system we play is more likely to yield goals from all positions which is not a bad thing as opposed to being heavily reliant on one or two players. I don't mind as long as we keep winning !!!

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Ipswichbusiness added 13:02 - Aug 27 With regard to Bonne, KMc had a good look at him last season. If he really wanted him then I am sure that a deal would have been done weeks ago. Therefore, either we have been strung along on the Hirst deal or he doesn't want him.
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