"Summer might typically be seen as a quiet time in football, but believe me that's not the case at Boundary Park. The board (including myself) have been working hard to ensure the coaching staff have the best possible shot at a successful season in 2008/09. Yes, we might have been lucky enough to have a number of financial windfalls last season, including the FA Cup run and the money we got for Neal Trotman from Preston. But we're still losing a significant amount of money - although the board have committed to backing the manager in the transfer market this summer as I'm sure you've already seen.
We have been one of the busiest clubs in the transfer market so far and have attempted to build for the future by bringing in players who have a significant upside. All the new arrivals certainly have the quality to make an impact in this division. Take Kieran Lee, for example - you don't captain Manchester United's reserves if you don't have something to offer.
We were delighted to attract Greg Fleming to the club because several Championship sides were interested in him. Greg certainly caused a stir with his performances in a struggling Gretna side and it will be interesting to see him battling with Mark Crossley for the number one spot. Mark was brilliant for us last season and gives us that steadying influence in the dressing room. I know for a fact 'Norm' won't give up the starting place without a fight.
Chris O'Grady has also arrived from Rotherham United to give us more competition up front, while Dale Stephens is a player we have been interested in for a while and we look forward to welcoming him to Boundary Park in July. We are continuing to track a number of targets and rest assured we are leaving no stone unturned to give ourselves the best possible chance of promotion next term.
Our list of possibles is wide-ranging and may involve further permanent transfers or loan deals. We used the long-term loan system to great effect last season to secure Neil Kilkenny and Ryan Bertrand and obviously that will be something we will look into again."