Ipswich Town managing director Ian Milne knows that the club will have to speculate to accumulate if they want to achieve promotion to the Premier League.

Blues owner Marcus Evans saw millions of pounds wasted on transfer fees and wages by former bosses Roy Keane and Paul Jewell. Understandably, with little return being shown on his investments, he tightened the purse strings.

But now, with Mick McCarthy having worked minor miracles to get Town back competing at the top end of the Championship table, there is a sense that now is the time to start spending again.

With the majority of the £8m transfer fee received from Bournemouth for left-back Tyrone Mings having been received up front this summer, the subsequent lack of signings has frustrated many supporters.

However, with the club closing in on Danish full-back Jonas Knudsen and hopeful of landing at least two further players before their Championship opener at Brentford next Saturday, Milne has moved to assure fans that Evans is by no means content to bumble along.

“Marcus hasn’t told Mick ‘make sure you just get frees’, he’s told him to go and identify the players that you think you need to take us forwards,” explained the Blues managing director.

“Throughout the summer Mick and Marcus continually talk – but it’s got to get through Mick’s test before it gets to Marcus. He’s not going to waste Marcus’ time.

“If Mick says ‘we need to get this player and we need to pay this money’ then, provided it’s a reasonable demand – not a low demand, a reasonable demand – then it will go ahead.

“I don’t hear from Mick or anybody at the training ground that Marcus is being stingy. I’ve never heard that.

“Regrettably a few fans might sense that’s happening, but that’s really not the case.

“Yes, you have to be prudent in any operation. But we’re not being prudent to the detriment of the whole object of why we’re here.

“And the whole object of why we’re here is to get promoted – and we know it needs funds to get promoted.”

He added: “There are the monies to do things now. The Tyrone (Mings) deal was a great piece of business and it’s made things easier for Mick and Marcus to look at a wider range of opportunities.

“There is no starving of funds and the ambition burns brighter than ever.

“Marcus, in particular, thrives on a sense of expectation and pressure. With any entrepreneur there’s that constant desire to succeed.

“There’s a very high expectation of us now – and so there should be.

“All the boys and girls at this club are keen to live up to that. We’re not going to shy away from it. If people shy away from it then it just won’t happen.

“Of course there is pressure on us, Mick and the first team squad.

“We all want to continue the improvement. And, like in any walk of life, you only get out of it what you put into it.”

– Ipswich Town host Dutch side Utrecht in their final pre-season match this afternoon. Follow @ChrisBramms on Twitter for live match updates.