In the second part of our interview with director of football David Holdsworth he confirmed that he’s now looking forward to seeing how the players perform now that the task of reshaping the squad is almost complete.
“I’m excited to see these players, I really am,” he said. “Going back to January again, and the discussions we had, and there were people like Reilly, Tanner and JJ who were looking at.
“We’ve added them now, and all of the others are really good boys as well. Chris has obviously now got to do his thing on the training ground and there’ll be competition for places.
“This club wants to be competitive, we don’t want to be crossing our fingers going into games, we want to be well prepared, which we will be.
“Football can be a really enjoyable place and now it’s down to the players to go out there and enjoy themselves, compete and battle.”
But how much work has actually gone in to getting these signings over the line?
“It’s been a long few weeks, but that’s what life is about sometimes,” he admitted. “You have to roll your sleeves up and get on with it.
“Talking to some agents has been interesting, and they’re all little battles I like winning. I think we’ve won most of them, which is a good thing, and we’ve brought some good character to our club.
“That’s not by luck. It’s been worked out to be that way and it’s worked out well. We can use loans if we want to do that, and it’s going to be a big month coming up with the games being announced.
“The future for most of what we want to do transfer wise now is Christmas, even though we’ve still got a month to go in this window.
“I mentioned to the staff when we met back In February that I wanted it all done by now. I know we’re a month behind because of Covid, but I’m pleased that it’s worked out to be well planned. The manager is very pleased with that, and with everybody who has come through the door, and the task now is to make sure we can be competitive.”
“Talk is cheap and I don’t want us to build anything up we can’t back up, but with the amount of ability we’ve brought through the door I’d like us to be really competitive,” he repeated. “The players will have competition for places which helps with that, and we have some very good youngsters which Mark Birch and Eric Kinder will look after.
“That’s all looking good and there’s some good young players in there. The function of the football club is coming together nicely on and off the pitch, and it’s nice to see people smiling and also working very hard.
“It’s taken probably two years to get to this point. Without looking back, in fact looking forward, we’ve got to be clever because we ultimately want to get out of this division and into League One. That’s never easy, and while we don’t have the biggest budget in the world, we still can be competitive.
“Working hard on the deals to make sure we can compete is enjoyable, but it is hard. We’re in a place now where we’ve shown we can do it, so we must continue to make the good work matter.”
Looking ahead to a season which is now just a few weeks away, he commented: “I think it’s exciting, I really do. The last two additions of Paul and Gime demonstrate the type of person we’re after.
“We want hungry players and there’s a good edge to our squad. The attacking options are a good headache to have for a manager and defensively the shape of the side will come together, and the players know they’re coming here to help us to achieve.
“Some have been in the game longer than others and, with the young boys, we want a pathway for the likes of Charters and Birch and the other lads, and all of the boys we signed.
“It’s an exciting few months ahead and I hope these lads can grasp it, thrive, and help this club to be successful.”
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