OXFORD United’s summer recruitment plans are well underway and ramped up once Sky Bet League One safety was secured, head coach Liam Manning has said.
Matty Taylor, Djavan Anderson and Jodi Jones were the notable players announced last week who will be leaving the club once their contracts expire next month.
With those situations resolved, attention will inevitably be focused on what players can be brought into the football club ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.
READ AGAIN: Liam Manning admits players will have to be moved on this summer
Manning wants United to act quickly where possible and avoid making signings later on in the transfer window.
With the summer window set to open next month, Manning revealed talks over targets are already in progress.
He said: “Conversations have started already, they’ve been going on a while.
“Getting into the position we’re in allowed us to fast track some of the conversations that we’ve been having and just gives us a bit more clarity in terms of what the plan looks like.
“It’s been going on for a while and what we can’t do is be reactive in the market.
“That’s the challenge sometimes, when you’re forced into doing things last minute.
“I much prefer to do all the due diligence and do all the work correctly, and make sure we tick off all the boxes that we need, to understand the player and the person, and ultimately how they fit into the group and the culture.
“That work is constantly ongoing and we’ll look to move quickly when we can.”
Asked whether a review of the past 12 months at the club needs to take place, Manning stressed the importance of assessing the mistakes which led the U’s into the midst of a relegation battle.
While United never dipped into the bottom four, the club flirted with danger from late February onwards.
Wins late on in the season against Cheltenham Town and Forest Green Rovers though would ultimately preserve the club’s third tier status.
Manning said: “What we have to do is make sure that we do analyse everything.
“I’ll have my ideas in terms of the direction we need to go in for the future but of course, any time you have a difficult period, you have to maximise the learning from it.
“We have to make sure that the mistakes were made, we don’t repeat, and look to evolve and progress, and make sure that we do all the work that’s necessary in the off-season to hit the ground running in pre-season.”
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About the author
To sign up to Liam’s latest Oxford United newsletter for free, click here: https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/newsletters/
Formerly the politics reporter for the Oxford Mail, Liam now covers all things Oxford United.
Liam attends the U’s home and away, as well as covering other big sports stories across the county.
His Oxford United newsletter is released every Saturday morning at 6am.
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