Torquay United's Jimmy Ball Open to New Signings

Torquay United boss Jimmy Ball is keeping the door open for new faces – but he’s refusing to panic.

The Gulls have been busy in the past week, dipping into Plymouth Argyle’s talent pool to bring in youngsters Tegan Finn and Caleb Roberts, while defender Oludare Olufunwa and winger Angelo Cappello have also arrived to bolster the squad.

At the same time, key men have gone the other way. Striker Jordan Young, defender Sam Dreyer and winger Dylan Morgan have all departed in recent weeks, leaving gaps Ball freely admits he still wants to fill.

"There's a couple of positions within the squad I'd like to strengthen," he told BBC Radio Devon. He knows exactly where the squad needs help. He just isn’t about to grab the first option that comes along.

Ball stressed that every signing so far has been carefully tracked.

"But I'm in a position now where I can take my time and make sure of the decisions that I'm making," he said. The club had the new arrivals “on a list, on a radar”, as he put it, and that homework has given him the freedom to be selective over what comes next.

The message is clear: one more player, yes. A rushed gamble, no.

"But I'd like to bring one more in for sure. But there's no rush about it, it's going to be a calculated one."

Ball stepped into the job in March after Paul Wotton’s sacking and immediately steadied a listing ship. He took Torquay to third place in National League South, only to see promotion hopes ripped away in a dramatic play-off final defeat at Hornchurch in May.

This season began with a stumble rather than a stride. Torquay struggled early on, raising fears of a hangover from that play-off heartbreak. Then the mood shifted. Back-to-back wins have pushed the club up to eighth in National League South and given Ball something solid to build on.

With four seasons now spent in the sixth tier, the pressure around Plainmoor is obvious. Ball, though, sounds convinced the recruitment work he and his staff are putting in will give Torquay the edge they need.

He wants promotion. He believes the squad is getting closer. And somewhere out there, he thinks, is that one calculated signing who might turn belief into a climb out of National League South.