Colin Spence says Irvine Meadow are ready to start moving in on transfer targets after keeping the spine of their squad together.
Spence and co-boss James Latta have spent the busiest week of their short managerial careers tying down players on new deals.
Goalkeeper Shaun Newman, defenders Jared Willet and Lee McCrae, midfielder Ryan Carnwath and striker Brendan Sharpe are the latest to commit to the club for another season.
Striker Darren Jones has decided to move on but Spence and Latta are not expecting anyone else to head out the door.
Now the wheeling and dealing has switched to bringing in fresh faces as the club prepare for life as a senior side in a new West of Scotland League.
“We’re a bit further down the road than we expected,” admitted Spence.
"I’ve felt like a full-time manager with all the phone calls and texts I’ve been making – and that’s splitting the workload with James.
“Getting the boys to stay on is a massive boost. Keeping the core of the squad together is very important.
"It allows us to keep the stability the club has enjoyed in the last few years.
"Jonesy moving on is something I kind of expected. There's a lot travelling involved for him.
“We’re not far away in terms of adding to the squad either.
“At times it’s felt like we were hitting our head against a brick wall but we’ve had a bit of a breakthrough in the last week.
“The difficulty is that players are still contracted to clubs because the season ended early but we hope to be able to announce something sooner rather than later. We’re looking at two or three right now.”
Spence admits he’s enjoying managerial life despite taking the reins in unprecedented times.
He said: “There’s a real buzz about the whole club just now and the committee are working hard to improve things on and off the park.”
