Championship promotion hopefuls Ipswich Town have insisted that they are working on adding to the squad before the end of the summer transfer window.
In an exclusive interview with Sports Mole, managing director Ian Milne said that the money gained from the sale of Tyrone Mings to Bournemouth would be reinvested in the squad.
Milne was speaking at the recent Sky Bet Transfer Fund draw, where Ipswich were one of 10 Football League clubs in with a chance of pocketing the £250,000 prize to spend on transfers.
© Getty Images
The kitty went to the Blues' promotion rivals Derby County and Milne admitted that it was disappointing not to have won.
"Yes it is a little disappointing," he said. "The event is very well staged by Sky and it was good fun being involved."
The sale of Mings to Bournemouth for a reported £8m also included the signings of Ryan Fraser on a season-long loan and Brett Pitman on a three-year deal, and Milne is delighted with the business conducted so far.
"I think we've done some very good business with Tyrone and the two new players in Brett and Ryan," he said. "Hopefully there will be more to come.
© Getty Images
"The way we work is that [director of football] Dave Bowman and Mick McCarthy will look for players and come up with ideas. Any serious ones will go to Marcus Evans. the owner, and if that gets concluded then it comes to me to do all the other bits and pieces.
"It is happening. We will reinvest. There's not a big rush to do it - it's a case of wait and see."
The injection of cash means that Ipswich do not need to sell their best players and today they confirmed that sought-after striker Daryl Murphy, who led the league in scoring with 27 last term, had signed a new two-year contract in Suffolk.
"It's very important that we keep the squad together," said Milne. "There's always going to be a few areas where we can add players and enhance certain areas that may have been weaker and that will happen.
"It's certainly not a wholesale change in the side, just maybe two or three players. We've started that process with Ryan and Brett coming in."
© Getty Images
Milne suggested that midfield might be the area that Ipswich focus on improving in the final month or so of the transfer window.
"In some ways I think maybe another striker, but we have got Ainsley [Maitland-Niles on loan from Arsenal]. We could probably strengthen in midfield.
"We'll see, but you're only talking about two or three places."
The departure of Mings means that Ipswich have lost their first-choice left-back the last two seasons after Aaron Cresswell was signed by West Ham United in 2013 and enjoyed a successful first year in the Premier League.
Milne does not feel that the Tractor Boys need to sign someone new to fill the spot left by Mings. In an exclusive interview recently, Blues boss McCarthy said that Jonathan Parr is likely to start the season at left-back.
"We've got Matt Clarke as well who's coming up from the academy so we are rather lucky with left-backs," said Milne. "It's probably an area where we may need to strengthen, but with Clarke and Parr, whose natural position is left-back, we may go that way.
© Getty Images
McCarthy also claimed that Ipswich now have the best strikeforce in the league with Murphy, Pitman, David McGoldrick and Freddie Sears, a view shared by Milne.
"McGoldrick and Murphy have been fantastic the last two seasons, but Freddie Sears I think has really come on," he said.
"He's like Daryl - really thriving under the spell of Terry Connor. He's done a superb job and is a serious young man. He's really applied himself and is a generous forward as well."
The strikers at Ipswich often praise Connor for their development, and Milne feels that his partnership with McCarthy is invaluable.
"He's very important," said Milne. "Terry does a lot of the one-to-one training with the strikers and it's a big thanks to him. I would say that we have the luck of two managers because they are a partnership."
© Getty Images
Ipswich beat Derby to one of the four playoff spots last year and went on to lose in the semi-finals to arch-rivals Norwich City. This summer, Derby have been one of the most active Championship teams, changing their head coach by appointing Paul Clement after the exit of Steve McClaren and signing several players, one of whom was the club-record capture of Tom Ince from Hull City.
Clement's side are the bookies' favourite to be promoted, but Milne is not concerned about having to compete with the big-spending Rams.
"The sale of Tyrone helps us stay competitive in the market," he said. "Derby surprisingly didn't make the top six last season.
"At the end of the day, the Championship is such a competitive league and I say to people at other clubs, we're just worried about the next match.
"Forget the one before, don't think about the one after. In the Championship you can only take one match at a time."
Ipswich begin their bid to end their 14-year stay in the Championship with a trip to Brentford, who were the other beaten playoff semi-finalists last season, on Saturday, August 8.
