Ipswich Town manager Paul Lambert insists no players will be sold ‘on the cheap’ this summer.
The Blues’ disastrous campaign concludes with a home game against Leeds United tomorrow (12.30pm ko).
Guaranteed to finish bottom of the Championship, they have won just four games along the way with the club now preparing for third-tier football for the first time since 1957.
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Lambert says a squad which currently has 49 professionally contracted players needs cutting. He also says it needs freshening up. That, however, will be on a budget with the club set to lose around £9m in revenue.
Asked if he might have to sell to buy, he replied: “Well first of all people have got to want to buy our players. And if you think people are going to go out of here on the cheap – no chance. I won’t allow it to happen.
“Whoever comes in has to be better than the ones that go. That’s key.”
Quizzed as to whether there would be wholesale changes this summer, the Blues boss said: “There has to be, because we’ve got six loans (expiring) and one or two lads out of contract.
“It needs freshening up as well if the truth be known. But the squad’s too big and it will get trimmed down.”
The transfer window for Premier League and Championship clubs – both permanent and loans – closes on August 8, but League One and Two clubs have until the end of August to do deals.
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“If you can get most of the lads in and settled before (the early July pre-season trip to) Germany that’s important because Germany will be tough,” said Lambert.
“I don’t think there’s anything set in stone where players will comes from. Whether they come from lower leagues or foreign places it doesn’t matter to me if I think they are good players and good people.”
He continued: “We’ve looked at one or two lads. A lot of that depends on the money situation. People have to be realistic with it and they will have to want to come here.
“I speak to (owner) Marcus (Evans) a lot. He is the custodian of the club, it’s his club and it’s up to him how it’s run.
“We know exactly the direction we’ve got to go in. We can’t go out and buy players for a couple of million. That’s not going to happen.
“We have to find another way of getting the best out of the people we bring in. If they’ve got that desire and that hunger.”
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