City are not looking to block out the fans with their “hush hush” transfer policy.

Defender Paul Arnison last week became Stuart McCall’s third capture of the summer and more are planned as pre-season gets closer.

City should find out within the next 48 hours whether they have a chance with Darren Moore. McCall is also talking to a couple more strikers as he pushes Michael Boulding for an answer.

And former Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper Rob Burch is expected for further talks at Valley Parade when he comes back from holiday.

With the players due back for training on July 1, the transfer trail is hotting up – but while some names have come out, McCall is still anxious to keep other targets firmly under wraps.

He admits that his policy of giving little away may not appeal to supporters desperate for news but insists it is the most effective method of beating rivals to those players.

McCall said: “It’s not me deliberately wanting to keep supporters in the dark but I want to do what I believe is best for the football club.

“When you go public, it opens up everybody else’s eyes and ears. I’ve done it myself, seeing a club linked with a player on Teletext and thinking ‘I didn’t know he was available’.

“Suddenly you have other teams interested who may not have been aware before.

“We’ve had that with Darren Moore. We’ve been working on ‘Big Daz’ for some time but once it got out that Bradford were involved, suddenly more clubs were thinking ‘if they can afford him then so can we’. Obviously that makes the negotiation more difficult.”

The City board have suggested some signings will raise eyebrows among the club’s supporters but there have been grumbles that new players are not coming in quick enough.

“The main thing is to get the right signing, not how quick we get him in,” insisted McCall.

“We could have signed 20 to 30 players already if we were aiming for mediocrity next year but we’re giving us the opportunity to get the best we can.

“We want to have other players signed up for pre-season but the league is a way off yet – and there’s always the loan market, which Hereford used so well last year.

“I’m certainly not going to be rushed into making signings for the sake of it.

“Yes, we had the season-ticket deadline last week and full credit to the supporters who have taken up the offer. It’s good value for money and I’m really delighted with them and grateful for the tremendous backing.

“But for those who were waiting on whether we made a big signing before they bought, that’s the gamble they took. If you haven’t taken up the offer by now and we bring those players in, then you will have to pay more.”