Ian Allinson is delighted with his summer business so far – with seven new faces arriving at Clarence Park.

Herts Advertiser: New St Albans City signing Joseph Chidyausiku after scoring for Romford back in April 2019. Picture: GAVIN ELLIS/TGS PHOTONew St Albans City signing Joseph Chidyausiku after scoring for Romford back in April 2019. Picture: GAVIN ELLIS/TGS PHOTO (Image: ©TGS Photo tgsphoto.co.uk +44 1376 553468)

The St Albans City boss says his plan once the season was officially ended was deciding how he could improve the squad and make them better than last year, which had them in a relegation battle for the majority of the campaign.

And ironically, the early end and subsequent lockdown period may have allowed him and the club to better prepared.

He said: “Funnily enough this is the first year we’ve really had a bit of time to just plan and prepare.

“It’s normally an eight-week period where everyone is rushing around and everybody is after the same player.

Herts Advertiser: St Albans City have signed striker Shaun Jeffers from Chelmsford City.Picture: ST ALBANS CITYSt Albans City have signed striker Shaun Jeffers from Chelmsford City.Picture: ST ALBANS CITY (Image: Archant)

“This time a lot of the clubs didn’t do any work for the first few months and so we could make sure we were better than last year.”

And those thoughts led to Allinson’s pursuit of forward-minded players, something he is delighted to have achieved with the acquisitions of Chid Onokwai from Haringey Borough and Chelmsford City duo Joe Chidyausiku and Shaun Jeffers among others.

He said: “We had to put goals into the team. Chid scored goals but now needs the opportunity to score at this level. Joe is a big strong boy and he’s young, only 22, but again just needs that opportunity.

“When I spoke to Rod Stringer he said that some of the forwards he had in front of him at Chelmsford last year was going to stop his progression.

“But he’s used to playing with Shaun which is good and Chid is six-foot-two and will give us something extra.

“He’s strong and powerful, which will put him in behind. Shaun is more of a link player and he will drop into the hole at times.”

He also believes the midfield area has been improved and will bring creativity and more chances for the strikers ahead.

Allinson said: “Romeo Akinola has been looking good in training, a bit of a livewire, so we can have him and Zane on either wing and we’ve got another winger, who we’ll announce in the next couple of weeks hopefully.

“Kyran [Wiltshire] can play on either wing, midfield, right-back and left-back. Watching him in training on Saturday his touch is unbelievable, it really is.

“But with him a lot of [why we signed him] was David Noble. David can’t play Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday. That will be tough on his body and if we do go into those first 10 games in five weeks we are going to need everybody on board.

“Kyran and David will dove-tail but we might also play him in a different area or in midfield with somebody else.

“He gives us an additional football brain which when Nobby didn’t play, I didn’t think we had.

“That’s not being disrespectful to Munashe or Solomon, they are much more of grafters.”