With the Club’s first pre-season friendly now just three weeks away, United manager Gary Johnson has provided supporters with an update on the how preparations for the new season are progressing.
“Things are going well,” began Johnson.
“We’ll announce people at the right time, like we’ve always said. We’ve still got a bit of work to do, that’s for sure, but there’s a lot of ‘spinning plates’ out there. We’ve got a lot of spinning plates, as in players that are waiting and waiting. We’ll give it a spin again before it falls down, and then some fall down, and you lose them, but we’re also a spinning plate for some players. That goes on to almost the start of pre-season.”
One player who won’t be returning to Plainmoor next term is Joe Lewis, who has turned down a new deal with Torquay in order to sign for a new club.
“Joe served us well. We took him from Swansea, who had given him a free transfer, and he wasn’t the finished article when he came to us. We had to work very hard with him, Downesy worked hard with him as a centre-half, and Joe was a great student, he took it all on board, along with the natural pace and athleticism he had.
“Of course, sometimes players go to clubs that they feel can help them reach their potential. That’s a good thing when you get them, but it’s a bad thing when you lose them. It is what it is, and we tried everything we could to keep them.
“The Club made big offers for all three (Joe, Armani Little & Connor Evans) in January, but they decided to not take up the offer, so from the Club’s point of view – the manager and the directors – we did everything we could to keep them but they wanted to be available, should anyone be interested, at the end of the season.
“The other two were free agents because they were over 24, but Joe was compensation and we managed to get a fair deal.”
With a trip to local side Buckland Athletic on Friday, 8th July, providing a first opportunity for the Yellow Army to get a glimpse of The Gulls’ new-look side, the rising excitement levels ahead of a new campaign are already there for all to see amongst fans, players and staff.
“We’re trying to get in as many as we can quickly, so that we’ve got our squad early, so that we can have a good five or six weeks with them before the league season starts.
“I’m happy with our recruitment so far, and in time, hopefully I’ll prove that to our supporters.”