Torquay United's Jimmy Ball Takes Calm Approach in Transfer Market

Torquay United boss Jimmy Ball is keeping his nerve in the transfer market, even as he admits there are still gaps he wants to fill.

The Gulls have been busy in the past week. Plymouth Argyle youngsters Tegan Finn and Caleb Roberts have arrived, joined by defender Oludare Olufunwa and winger Angelo Cappello as Ball reshapes a squad that has lost key faces in recent weeks.

Striker Jordan Young, defender Sam Dreyer and winger Dylan Morgan have all departed, leaving obvious areas to address. Ball knows it, but he is refusing to panic.

"There's a couple of positions within the squad I'd like to strengthen," he told BBC Radio Devon. "But I'm in a position now where I can take my time and make sure of the decisions that I'm making.

"Not that we didn't have all the lads we've brought in on a list, on a radar, but there's no rush now.

"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."

It is the voice of a manager who has already ridden out one storm at Plainmoor.

Ball stepped in during March after Paul Wotton was sacked and immediately steadied the club, driving Torquay to a third-placed finish in National League South. They came within a whisker of promotion, only to lose a dramatic play-off final at Hornchurch in May.

This season started with a jolt rather than a surge. Torquay struggled early on, raising familiar questions about whether the club could claw its way out of the sixth tier at the fourth attempt.

The response has been sharp. Back-to-back wins have pushed the Gulls up to eighth in National League South, close enough to the early play-off traffic to matter, but with enough flaws on show to remind Ball that his rebuild is not complete.

That is where his recruitment drive comes in. He trusts the process, and the people around him, as he looks to assemble a group capable of finally dragging Torquay out of a division they have called home for four long seasons.

The next signing, he insists, will not be rushed. It has to be right. Because for Torquay United, the margin between another year stuck in the sixth tier and a long-awaited promotion could rest on that one calculated call.