City boss Glenn Roeder has revealed that he hopes to add another two faces to an ever-expanding Canary squad by the middle of this week as his best-laid plans start to bear fruit.
With Dejan Stefanovic and Elliot Omosuzi signing on the dotted line on Friday, it takes the number of Roeder's summer recruits up to five and slowly, but surely, the Canary chief is assembling a squad he believes is capable of competing at Championship level.
And speaking after yesterday's last-gasp 2-1 win over Ahlafors in the opening contest of their Swedish tour, Roeder admitted that numbers six and seven should be through the door sooner rather than later.
“I feel pretty confident that we'll have another two in by the middle of the week,” said the City boss.
“And I'd like to think that before the start of the next week there will be another one or two in as well. Then, the squad will be starting to take shape.
“It will give us the opportunity to have a much better season than last year ? which we have to. But we need to get these players in as soon as possible, to bed them in.
“They're not going to have a lot of time to get to know each other but I hope there is enough experience amongst the new players coming in so that we can click straight away. And I'm sure as the weeks go by, we'll get better as we really get to know each other.”
Like London buses, we seem to wait a good while for one, and then they all come at once but despite his recent successful dip into the transfer market, Roeder revealed that it had been a long, painful summer of negotiations so far ? and we're still 42 days away from the transfer window slamming shut.
It has certainly been a laborious process ? especially when the whole world and his wife seem to be after the same players ? and you sense that the Canary chief will be breathing a huge sigh of relief when it is all done and dusted ? as long as he can tick off most of the names on his 'most wanted' list.
“As frustrated as the fans have been, I've been the same,” Roeder added. “Some of these signings have been taking up to eight weeks to complete.
“The days of a manager ringing up another manager and agreeing a price on the same day, and a player signing the following day are long gone.
“I know how important it is to put a squad together ? and quickly. After all, we're less than three weeks away from the start of the season.”
They will certainly be three, vital weeks if City are to be in tip-top shape come August 9 and that date at the Ricoh Arena.
It is all too easy to get carried away with talk of big-name new arrivals but behind the scenes, the current squad are getting closer and closer to their peak physical condition with every passing day.
And Roeder declared himself satisfied with their latest workout in the picturesque surroundings of the Sjovallen stadium.
A 2-1 win against their Swedish fourth tier opponents will not have supporters piling into their nearest bookies to put a few quid on City winning promotion and in all fairness, the tourists should have run out comfortable winners.
But points certainly don't mean prizes at this stage of proceedings and yesterday's test against a side in the middle of their domestic campaign will have done them the world of good.
“When you come to Scandinavia, you always get difficult games. They are halfway through their season and naturally, Scandinavians are fit, healthy people.
“With the importance of athleticism in football these days, that lends itself to them doing well. I know we scored with three seconds to go but you'd have to say we deserved the win.
“We had so much of the ball but we wasted opportunities in wide areas to pick out the right people.
“I was disappointed with the goal we conceded ? it reminded me too much of some of the ones we conceded last year. We really need to tighten up at the back and defending set-plays. But overall, it was a good workout.”
The Canary chief is certainly delighted with the new regime in place after the acquisition of Alan Pearson as the “head of fitness and strengthening”.
And now that thoughts are beginning to turn to the season opener at Coventry, Roeder admitted that the players were doing their bit as well.
“We can push on a little bit now. We've done a lot of fitness work and we've changed the way we condition the players. I'm delighted with the progress they are making and I think they are enjoying it ? they are certainly showing it in the effort and attitude to the hard work.
“Footballers aren't that famous for being willing workers when the ball isn't at their feet but they've been terrific.”
Tom Haylett
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