With the first pre-season friendly around three weeks away, Town boss Andy Ritchie spoke to htafc.com today about his preparations for the forthcoming campaign.
Pre-season training starts on Monday and Ritchie is keen to resolve the situation regarding Chris Brandon's possible move to newly-promoted Championship side Blackpool.
"The Chris Brandon situation is still ongoing and I will be making another phone call today", said Ritchie. "Simon Grayson (the Blackpool manager) has been away but he's back today, so we'll just have to play it by ear. As I've said before, if Blackpool don't want him then we're more than happy for him to stay here."
With three new signings already on board for the coming League One campaign, Ritchie is now moving towards the loan market and he exclusively told htafc.com that he is closing in on a possible deal.
"We've already spoken to a club about a possible loan signing and it's now just a case of trying to sort it out. We think we might have, but that's something we shall discuss next week as all the clubs are back at roughly the same time."
In other news, first-team coach John Dungworth and coach Martyn Booty are completing their respective coaching badges.
"Boots has finished his B-license course but he now has to keep a log book ahead of his last assessment, which will take place at some stage in the next year.
"John is still away on his course at the moment and he comes back to us next Tuesday.
"We're gearing up for the season now and I'm looking forward to seeing all the lads on Saturday. It's just a bit of a 'meet and greet' day, but we will have a talk about what we expect from them. Monday will be when we make a proper start!
"Pre-season is always a difficult time for footballers but all our lads should come back in pretty good shape. When I played, I used to hate pre-season; we used to have a lot longer off, about two and a half months, but nowadays you have to keep yourself fit in the break and if you don't you will struggle when you come back.
"It's a vital time for us - we have to work hard in pre-season and make sure we hit the ground running."
