Believe me, all eyes are now focused on the new season.

Yes, we had a great season last time around only to lose out near the end, but all that's in the past now and we've got to look ahead and make sure we go one better next time.

John [Sheridan] did a fantastic job last season, and we've built a little with signings like Sean Gregan, alongside the emergence of youngsters like Neal Eardley and Chris Taylor.  Fortunately we've got those two on long-term contracts, and they'll be crucial to our fortunes over the next few years. 

Now we've released a couple of players, we'll be looking to bring players of a calibre that can really take this club places.

Myself, the Board and John have drawn up a list of targets, and we've already made a number of phone calls to try and bring those targets in.  In football, this time of year is always a bit like limbo -- players, agents and staff are on holiday and many don't make decisions until they've had a break.

Obviously we're working to a budget -- and we all know how important it is not to overspend too much -- but we've always backed the manager 100% and that will certainly continue.

We can't reveal too much at this time, but that's the way of the world.  We wouldn't want our targets to get stolen from under our noses!

As you well know we don't have any contracted strikers on the books at the time of writing barring Andy Liddell, and we'll certainly be doing what we can to persuade Chris Porter to stay.  We also know that we need to enter the transfer market, and we'll be trying our best to do so.

We don't just want to strengthen up front, though.  The turnover of players has given us some more room to bring new faces in, and we all think it's important to freshen up in order to kick on.

Historically there's been quite a turnover of players in the summer, and if that happens again we'll just have to make sure we bring the quality in we need to compete in what's sure to be a competitive division next season.

Season ticket sales have been steady, and we are all looking to you, the fans, to get behind us in numbers and help to ensure that 2007/08 is a memorable season.

As soon as I've got anything to report, you'll be able to read it right here.

Cheers,

Simon