WE have reached the stage now where we can really look forward to the start of the new season.

And that is after a closed season fraught with difficulties and disappointments - and in some cases extreme pleasure in getting certain players signed.

The first disappointment was in losing players like Tamika Mkandawire, Rob Purdie and Andy Williams.

I was aware fairly early on that Tam was going to move on. We had got a deal set up with Peterborough in the last transfer window for £150,000 but Tam turned that down which meant that he was a free agent in the closed season.

We also had Bristol Rovers' offer of £150,000 for Andy in the transfer window. He rejected that move but, as he was under 24, we were able to claim compensation for him which, in the end, will not be far off the previously-agreed figure.

One or two others left - I was quite surprised that Alan Connell and Simon Travis failed to inform the club in writing by the specified date so we withdrew their offers which left us with a very small number of players.

It has taken a lot of hard work from both John Trewick and myself through the closed season to attract the sort of players to the club that we felt we needed.

There have been disappointments, particularly when we have been close to signing players, only to lose them to other clubs and, on at least a couple of occasions, by complying with Football League regulations of clubs not paying agents who represented players.

There is no doubt that we lost at least two players because we refused to pay the agent's fee.

The amount of money taken out of the game by these representatives for what they do is outrageous.

The Football League are taking steps to reduce the amount going out but £8.5m in the last 12 months is £8.5m that is lost to the game.

But they are there and we have to deal with them.

I am quite happy with what we have managed to bring in to the playing squad.

We have youth and experience, some physical presence and some pace, a very good attitude to hard work and a very good spirit seems to be developing in the dressing room.

We have invested quite heavily in the playing surface and, as a side that wants to get the ball down and pass it, the good surface should enable us to do that.

At this stage, I, like most managers, am feeling very optimistic about the coming season. We will all have done our hard work through pre-season, we will have all signed new players, we will all be expecting to get promoted.