Anthony Johnson believes Chester FC are in a 'great position' when it comes to their transfer business so far.
Johnson and joint-manager Bernard Morley have so far brought in Kevin Roberts, Jamie Morgan, Danny Livesey and Joel Taylor while tying 11 players down to new deals for next season.
The duo have a long target list and the players brought in were at the very top. And while they may have been stymied in their attempts to bring in attacking midfielder Matty Kosylo from FC Halifax Town , Spennymoor Town winger Ryan Hall and Colne attacker Alex Curran, who joined Stockport County, the Blues bosses are closing in on other key targets and feel they are in a good place.
"When you compare how things looked for us at this stage last season, where everything had to be done quickly and we had little time to plan, we are in a great position," said Johnson.
"We've kept the lads we wanted to keep and we've so far managed to get in lads who were right up there on our list of targets.
"We've missed out on a couple but that happens. We have loads of irons in the fire and there is no panic stations and need to make knee-jerk decisions, we have been able to bide our time and hold the cards.
"On a couple of positions, the goalkeeper being one, we are prepared to wait. For all the players we targeted, because of the planning we have been able to do we set our standards very high this summer.
"We obviously have a budget to work to but the fact that we have been able to do some really good business so far in terms of new signings and new deals means that we are now able to focus on finding those players further up the pitch who will make a real difference to us.
"What we didn't have so much of last season, and the ridiculous injury situation didn't help, was being able to change things during games. We have the personnel in the squad already to change things up and there are lads who can play a number of positions very well.
"We've said it before but we are massively excited about next season. We think we are close on a couple of lads and there are one or two which have cropped up which we weren't expecting we could get which we may now be able to, so hopefully we can get a couple of things done."
Chester remain keen to sign striker Anthony Dudley on a permanent basis following his release from Salford City while a young defender is expected to join the club on a season-long loan deal from a Football League side this week after a deal was agreed last weekend.
