New Blues boss Paul Hurst admits he’s been “surprised by one or two things” since taking over at Portman Road, which he believes are “nowhere near good enough” for him and his staff. The Town manager says the sale of central defender Adam Webster - who he doesn’t expect to be the last departure during this window - has allowed him to put his mark on a squad which he believes needs freshening up.

Hurst hadn’t anticipated Webster’s departure for Bristol City late last month, in a deal worth an initial £3.5 million, but confirmed that he had the final say in whether the move went ahead.

“Yes I did,” he said speaking after Saturday’s 2-0 friendly defeat at Braintree. “I wouldn’t have taken the job on if I felt that I wasn’t going to be making the decisions.

“I probably did expect to have him here. I wouldn’t have expected the interest coming so early.

“But overall I was more than happy to agree to that sale and to try and use that money to strengthen the squad overall.”

He says the Webster cash allows him the freedom to tweak the Town squad more than might otherwise have been the case.

“Yes, and I think it’s needed,” he added. “And again, I think I’m still very conscious and people might say I don’t need to keep saying it, but this isn’t a criticism of anything before me, this is about me wanting to put my stamp on it.

“And maybe we want to play a little bit of a different way, but I guarantee it wouldn’t matter who is manager, it all comes down to you wanting to win games of football.

“I think that the group needs probably some help, it needs freshening up and I’m sure there’ll be some more casualties as we move forward because, for me, people talk about standards and what they expect.

“We’ve been surprised by one or two things, shall we say, that are nowhere near good enough for us and we want to get people in that we feel are and can do the jobs and the roles that we would expect.”

Explaining what he means further, he added: “I’ve been told that some people are good players, that some people are very promising and I’d have to disagree on some of them.

“I’m not going to name names. Fitness-wise I’ve said from the start, I expected that we wouldn’t be able to perform the pre-season that we would like to have had and certainly if I’d stayed at my previous club that we would have gone through.

“But in fairness, in general, the lads have worked very hard but we’ve had to cut it back slightly because I think we would have broken them and maybe [they would have] suffered injuries more than it would have benefited.

“We’ve had to be a little bit cautious on a couple of occasions but in general, if you asked them, I think they’d be surprised to hear that because they’ll say they’ve worked extremely hard.

“[We’ve taken the edge off it] slightly, not altogether, but slightly. But it’s new and they have shown a good attitude to that, I have to say.

“But ultimately you have to deliver when it’s game day and, like I said, yes, we’ll be fresher [once the season proper gets under way], but they’ve got to do a lot better than they [did at Braintree].”

Regarding new signing Jordan Roberts, who will face his old club Crawley in this evening’s friendly at East Grinstead, Hurst says he primarily views him as a winger rather than a striker, despite starting him up front at Cressing Road.

“No, that’s where we’re at at the minute. He has played there, we just thought we’d have a look at him,” he said.

“He gives us a little bit of pace up there at times. But I would have preferred to have played him wide really.

“We switched it just before the end with Freddie Sears going down the middle. I’ll have to look at that moving forward, whether we give it another look or put him back out wide where he was really brought in to play.

“But at the minute we haven’t got too many options, in all honesty. We’ll have to keep looking at what we have got and try and figure out the best way of people getting the minutes and hopefully playing in positions that we want them to.”

....Smile for the camera Gwion 📸#ITFC pic.twitter.com/kWb3NOO7JG– Blue Monday Podcast (@BlueMondayITFC) July 16, 2018

Meanwhile, Town look set to confirm the signing of Peterborough United winger Gwion Edwards at some point today.

The 25-year-old was spotted being photographed in a Blues shirt at Portman Road last night with the image subsequently circulating widely on social media. Club photocalls routinely take place before deals are finalised.

Former Wales U21 international Edwards will join Town for a fee of £700,000 which was agreed at the end of last week.

Photo: TWTD

blues1 added 07:59 - Jul 17 Currie10. If he was naming names i would agree it could be worrying but he isnt. Also, dont think theyre likely to get him the sack by switching off, bcse hes made it clear that anyone not pulling their weight will be got rid of.
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jayceee added 08:00 - Jul 17 Can't help thinking we are in for a very difficult season. Not gonna lie - not feeling PH yet, but praying my instincts are way off.
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ShropshireBluenago09 added 08:05 - Jul 17 Get N'siala and Ogogo .Class at Shrewsbury last season
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pegasus added 08:05 - Jul 17 Don't forget that Bobby Robson actually had a punch - up with a couple of the old guard that he inherited. [Some really good thought and debate emanating from this story.]
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MyBlueHeaven added 08:05 - Jul 17 I see only positives here. As someone posted above, here's a guy coming in who's worked his entire career in lower leagues - and he's saying there're things at this solid Championship club that aren't right. He's not giving it the big 'I am'; he's not talking about what he achieved at other clubs etc; just giving us his view on how he sees things. He's clearly a driven up-and-coming manager with a clear idea on how he wants things done. His comment on not taking the job if he didn't have control on players coming in and out is telling. Paul Hurst is telling the club, the players and the supporters who's in charge. It's probably going to take a few months for the dust to truly settle - and we shouldn't expect too much results-wise early on - but once he's shipped out players he's identified as not fitting into his plans, and brought in some fresh faces, I can see Hurst building something that we can all get behind.

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floridaboy added 08:38 - Jul 17 Love it! Far too many were just jogging along under the previous manager. How often on here did fans moan about certain players always starting irrespective how they had been playing. Also get the impression many are not as fit as they should be! Surely this is just what the club needed. Someone to come in and give it a good kick up the backside. Even the owner seems to have changed. Spoken more over the last few weeks than the last few years. Think now Hurst has Bart on board we will seem some transfer action. A breath of fresh air as far as I am concerned. Obviously those who loved the previous manager are always going to be unhappy whoever took over.

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crazyblue68 added 09:02 - Jul 17 I think PH needs to be a bit careful. He is openly criticising the squad. Players can quickly turn if they feel threatened as a group. He would do well to keep his thoughts to himself, and quietly start moving them on. I feel he could be a little out of his depth and needs to step back a bit and take stock. None of these comments will help moral.
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martin587 added 09:05 - Jul 17 An honest Yorkshire man telling the truth.Some players at the club Have Not performed and had an easy ride under MM and Paul has seen this and obviously won't tolerate under performers. He has to stamp his authority on the team so we have to go with this and some need to stop moaning and get into the real world. If the truth hits home to some players then so be it.I'm behind Paul and so should everybody else be.Sure there will be players leaving,it makes sense if they don't fit into his plans but better more Hungary players will arrive. This is a rebuilding process so we just have to be patient.Surely anything is better than the teams MM put out for a bore draw.

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BlueandTruesince82 added 09:08 - Jul 17 Maybe this to provoke a reaction after a dire Braintree showing. Pointless trying to 2nd guess. If transpired that these comments were aimed at Skuse or Jonas some of you would 180 faster that Shawn White.
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whosroundisitanyway added 09:17 - Jul 17 martin587 Hope the Hungary players coming in are better than Tamas Priskin!
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midastouch added 09:17 - Jul 17 I understand things may need a shake up, the Braintree game has clearly set some alarm bells ringing off for Paul. I remember the Charlton game last season and I thought OMG we're doomed but to be fair we never looked in danger of going down even if it wasn't pretty on the eye. Paul's man-management skills will be put the test here as if he shakes things up too violently and suddenly there could be a backlash. Bear in mind a lot of the old players liked Mick and if he ruffles all of their feathers then it could turn a bit awkward in the dressing room. Whatever your thoughts on some of Mick's old faves he can't replace them all overnight. He will likely need some to come along on the journey with him. This is an extreme example but remember when Brian Clough went to Leeds! So I'm all for changing things up but I would advise some caution as if he turns some of the influential players in the dressing room against him then it might work against him rather than for him. It could work wonders if he gets this right but if he gets it wrong then it could blow up in his face. I don't know his methods so I can't question them but I have worked at several places and seen a new person come in and try and change everything too quickly and seen it blow up spectacularly in their face. Only the most polished managers and leaders can pull that sort of thing off with success. Paul might be in that category, if so then we're very fortunate. We'll soon find out as the new season isn't far away now.

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TrumptonBlue added 09:20 - Jul 17 When I saw the headline, I thought it was going to be about the kit.
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midastouch added 09:23 - Jul 17 In short Paul will need to get the playing staff to fully buy into his vision, if they're not fully sold on it then he won't get the maximum out of them. If he can however sell them to buy in wholeheartedly on his vision and plans then we're in for some rosy times ahead. Not sure which way it will go but I'm excited to find out and praying it all goes to plan.
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Guthrum added 09:25 - Jul 17 This is the first in a long time we've had a new manager take over during the summer break, who has not been forced to immediately go into matches with the previous man's team and setup. There is bound to be more upheaval - Hurst has the time, space and transfer window to change a lot more things. He does not have the encumbrance of having already formed working relationships (under difficult circumstances) with the players. Which, on a human level, makes them easier to ship out or criticise.

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OsborneOneNil added 09:30 - Jul 17 Fantastic PH, great to hear and so refreshing. The constant mind numbing rubbish we've had to put up with previous, this makes me extremely excited for the new season. Not going to expect much, results wise, to start but he's clearly changing it all up, and my word how we need it.
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RegencyBlue added 09:33 - Jul 17 So far I'm liking what I'm hearing from Hurst. Having said that its only going to work if Evans backs him financially. Cant clear the deadwood out if decent replacements are not forthcoming.
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Currie10 added 09:33 - Jul 17 crazyblue - we're on the same lines here.
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matty81 added 09:33 - Jul 17 The transfer window shuts very early this year so he only has 3 weeks to make these changes....good luck. I do feel we may have a difficult season ahead but this will hopefully lay stronger foundations for seasons going forward.
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casanovacrow added 09:38 - Jul 17 As a fan I feel that it's kind of vindicating to have someone come in and see the failings we had spotted as fans for the last few seasons..and not be told that we are unreasonable for expecting more than we had got like big chunks of the national press did especially when we aired our thoughts on wanting Mick out for his overly negative / limiting player selection.

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ashp19 added 09:43 - Jul 17 This is exactly what is required to get us back to the standard all expect. Time to put your Instagram showboating to one side lads and sort it out. Good to see everybody working so hard!
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Cheshire_Blue added 09:46 - Jul 17 Time will tell.
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DJ27 added 09:52 - Jul 17 For last 3 years under McCarthy fans on here 'Get Mick's favs out, we're rubbish, need 5 or 6 new players. Fans today after Hurst comment 'Bit worried about this' 'Can't make wholesale changes' 'Hurst is out of his depth' I dont know why anyone is surprised to hear these comments, we have been a mediocre mid table team who over achieved in one season. Clearly we don't have a team capable of making top 6, we have been where we deserved to be on merit. If Hurst has ambitions on us making the top 6, then these comments are absolutely spot on. Some are not good enough! Be interesting to see who he is referring to, my guesses would be Garner, Ward, Emmanuel, Spence, Skuse (because of the high tempo style Hurst wants to play) and Downes (purely based on his refusal to let him join England U19, to take a longer look at him. But that is only my opinion, i'm sure others will disagree.

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RogerWimbledonBlue added 09:59 - Jul 17 Maybe I'm reading this wrong, but see see it slightly differently - he says ‘one or two things' are nowhere good enough for ‘him and his staff. Maybe he's not talking about the squad but other things behind the scenes??
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martin587 added 10:21 - Jul 17 How can people on this page say Paul Hurst is out of his depth.That is so naive.A true Town supporter would get behind the manager and not criticise him before the season has even started.
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Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 10:25 - Jul 17 Clearly PH is driven by results and not sentiment. Does he need to be a little careful not to disrupt the team spirit? So far, I don't think he has overstepped the mark: crucially, he hasn't named names and he's just given an honest impression of what he's seen. And presumably when he gets his own people in, then the team spirit will also be there. A breath of fresh air, but be careful...

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