DEAN HOYLE is confident in Town’s forward planning and today told fans: “We’ve got the right player targets in mind and we’ve now got to go out and get them.”

The chairman-elect shares supporters’ frustration at a run of just four points from 21 which has dropped Lee Clark’s side into mid-table.

But as Town prepare for an away double-header at Hereford and Bristol Rovers with Nathan Clarke back in the reckoning, Hoyle outlined the squad transition which is in the pipeline to help lift fortunes for 2009-10.

Just a week before the club’s early-bird season-ticket deal is announced, Hoyle said: “I have spoken at length with Lee about things and it’s not rocket science what we need to go forward.

“The way Lee is looking at the squad, he has got his targets, they are the right players and we’ve now got to go out and get them.”

Town are staying in the south west to train for the upcoming games, rather than travelling back to the Galpharm, and Hoyle is looking for positive results to round off the campaign as buoyantly as possible.

“We want to finish the season well, but developing is a longer-term project. I understand why the fans are frustrated, but they’ve also got to understand what we are trying to build,” he explained.

“We’ve got Alex Smithies on a four-and-a-half year contract and he is worth lots of money. We could have sold him and cashed in, which would have helped with the books, but we decided to give him a fantastic contract and keep him, which shows our commitment.

“There are others we have brought in, like Anthony Pilkington who is a quality performer, and we need to go places to keep these people on board.”

Ready to take over chairmanship from Ken Davy in the summer, Hoyle added:

“Next season is a big season for us.

“The squad has got to be trimmed and we have to bring in more quality.

“We can’t afford a squad of 35 where X number are not in the first team. We need a squad of 24 where all 24 can play in the first team week in and week out.

“That’s the aim, but we all realise it won’t happen overnight.

“Lee has inherited a squad of three previous managers, but he knows who he wants to bring in, he knows how he wants us to play and we will get to where we want to be, no doubt about that.

“With that in mind, we need the fans with us all the way. I’m not here for any ego trip or any legacy, all I want to do is get the football club back on track and that’s not just the first team but everything around it.

“If the first team can succeed, then everything else falls into place much quicker.”