IT’S time for Ipswich Town’s revolving door to slow down.

So says Blues boss Paul Jewell, who accepts his share of responsibility for a ‘ridiculous’ turnover of players at the club in recent years.

In little over his four years in charge, owner Marcus Evans has sacked two managers – Jim Magilton and Roy Keane – and each time the new man has wanted to mould their own squad.

As a result, there have been 43 permanent signings and 28 loan additions since the start of 2008, while countless others have been sold, released or retired.

Of the nine permanent signings Jewell has made in his first full season at Portman Road, five are over the age of 30, with three – Lee Bowyer, Ibrahima Sonko and Richard Wright – all handed short-term deals.

In addition, there have been six loan signings, none of which – Daryl Murphy potentially aside – ever looked likely to be more than temporary measures.

Jewell, however, says he now realises the club – set to start an 11th consecutive campaign in the Championship later this year – can only move forward with continuity.

“It’s been like a conveyor belt with players here,” said the Blues boss. “I hold my hands up and say I’ve been part of that too.

“I think it’s time to get some continuity here. We want players who live in the area and settle down for some time because when you get that togetherness players tend to thrive on it.

“It’s ridiculous how many players have come and gone and I take my share of responsibility for that. Certain times this year we’ve been searching for the formula, but maybe we now need to plan for the future a bit.

“That’s difficult because people want short-term success. When we made all those signings last year, I’m sure a lot of people thought ‘great’. Some of those signings have been smashing, don’t get me wrong, we just need to have a bit more of a long-term plan which we can stick to strongly, even during the times it’s not working out.”