IPSWICH Town manager Paul Jewell says insists the club won’t be forced into paying over the odds for players before next Tuesday’s transfer deadline.

The Blues boss admits that he missed out on many of his top transfer targets last summer before ultimately ending up with a host of loanees and ageing players on short-term contracts.

And with his side currently just four points above the Championship relegation zone following a return of just eight points from a possible 45, he is desperately trying to land the young recruits which will give frustrated supporters a chink of hope for the coming months and years ahead.

Bids have been lodged for five players, but at present it’s far from certain that any of them will sign.

Some have begun to question negotiating powers of owner Marcus Evans and chief executive Simon Clegg. Jewell, however, says signing players is not as simple as many think.

“Please don’t blame them (Evans and Clegg) for everything,” said the Blues boss, in an exclusive interview with the EADT.

“There are lots of players that we haven’t been able to get, but I can assure you no player has slipped through our net through lack of trying.

“Marcus has put a lot of money into the club, but there is a misconception out there that we blow others out of the water with wages – we don’t.

“Not all deals can happen because, at the end of the day, we are in an economic slump here and football isn’t above that.

“I have a lot of input with transfers and will always say when I think a player is not worth a certain amount.”

The EADT understands that a second offer for 19-year-old centre-back Murray Wallace – believed to be around �300,000 – was accepted by Scottish second tier club Falkirk yesterday, but that Town face stiff competition from Brighton and Huddersfield.

An offer of around �2m for a trio of Portsmouth players – including Jason Pearce and Joel Ward – could all depend on how serious the financial situation at the south coast club gets.

And it looks like the Blues have baulked at Crewe’s asking price for teenager Nick Powell.

Meanwhile, 6ft 3in Crawley striker Tyrone Barnett – who saw a �900,000 move to Blackpool fall through last week – is understood to be among a long list of potential Town targets, but with no bid having yet been made.