Making moves in the market is not as easy as it seems...

IT must be tempting to go into a transfer window like a kid in a sweet shop, looking at the good players on the shelves who might look better than the ones you’ve got. But building a squad is a tricky business and you will come unstuck if you don’t have a solid plan. You need a system that you use consistently and then you recruit for that system. You have a squad which knows all the roles, a number one for each position and a number two busting a gut to try to get their spot when they get a chance.

So you head into the summer asking yourself the key questions: what do we want and how do we get it?

Do you want to go with wingbacks next season, which would mean you need cover and competition for Josh Tymon and two new players on the right?

Do you want to go to wingers? Or inside forwards, if that’s the formation that works best for Tyrese Campbell?

Do you want to play with three central midfielders? If so do you want a sitter or will Joe Allen stay or, if Allen leaves, do you want another Allen type?

At the moment, the midfielders on the books are Sam Clucas, Mario Vrancic, Jordan Thompson and Lewis Baker, with interest in what happens next for Romaine Sawyers and with Allen. I

f you go with the same midfield balance that we’ve had over the last few months then don’t be shocked if we get the same results.

There have been frustrations with that department because we’ve had games when we’ve been in control and haven’t gone on to win. You need a midfield that functions fluently in both defending and attacking. That’s central to everything else. If you’ve got it, you’re on your way, if you haven’t, it’s going to be a long slog.

And it all links up together. If you go with wing-backs, you’ll come unstuck if you have a front two of Nick Powell and Steven Fletcher, for example. Powell likes to come deep and Fletcher can’t make the runs in behind. With attacking ploys in wide areas coming later from wing-backs than from wingers, it lets the opposition squeeze you and push you back.

But if there’s a Fletcher-type target man who can hold the ball up and who you can hit and work off, he can link in with a player like Jacob Brown, who can stretch defences with that pace and runs into the area. If you can’t get in behind because a team is getting deeper, you can hit a big number nine and get support to him in the area for knock-downs and set-ups.

We saw the impact that Fletcher could make at times in the last couple of seasons and there have been many supporters who have only wished he was 10 years younger. A bigger striker, like Michael O’neill has hinted he would like to sign, would be sensible to find the right partner for Brown, who should continue to develop with his work ethic.

It is a tough job to be a wingback. One second you’re defending deep in your own half and the next you’re expected to be a vital part of the attack. That’s why the attacks come later and it’s essential you have a real understanding with the players in midfield to work on fluency and creativity. If you’re not on the same page, the wing-backs don’t come into play like they are needed.

Tymon can play at left-back but the question will be about what is in front of him and whether you play a 4-3-3 or a back four and two old-fashioned wingers, which might suit him better in terms of the ebb and flow of a game.

In the middle of defence, will Stoke be going with two centrebacks or three? Phil Jagielka has signed up for another six months and Harry Souttar is getting back fit but Taylor Harwood-bellis has gone back to Manchester City and it will be interesting to see how Ben Wilmot and Will Forrester develop.

Jagielka is a good player, a good professional and a leader who brings experience and knowledge. That was a good bit of business – but as he turns 40 in August you might think you need to play a back three or to have two sitting midfielders.

You definitely need to add another centre-back and O’neill needs a right-back or two as well… and what type will depend on if you’re going to have a sitting midfielder who allows full-backs to get forward.

It is a lot of thinking, planning and research, discussions, arguments and debates and it’s obviously a big couple of months for the manager, who has been in charge now for two-and-a-half years, making him the fourth longest-serving in the Championship as Tony Mowbray and Mark Warburton leave Blackburn and QPR and Paul Warne comes up with Rotherham.

You could say that chapter one was an exceptional job in keeping us up and chapter two has been a rebuild that has gone on longer than we all might have wanted. Chapter three needs to charge forward with clear thinking, a clear system and a backbone in the team. That is how you build consistency.

Stability is hard-earned and you have to look after it. I still look back on how we never had like-for-like replacements for main cogs like Glenn Whelan, Jon Walters and Peter Crouch. It is a long way back to that but let’s hope we make big strides towards it over the next few weeks.