Tam Courts insists he sympathises with the frustration of Dundee United supporters desperate to see new arrivals.
However, the Tannadice head coach has no intention of pushing the panic button, contending that the Tangerines remain masters of their own fate in the transfer market.
United have secured just two summer captures ahead of Sunday’s Premiership opener against Aberdeen, with former Celtic and Scotland star Charlie Mulgrew and Northern Ireland international Trevor Carson penning deals.
While Courts accepts that the club would have liked a few more bodies through the door by now, he is adamant that showing patience in pursuit of their top targets will pay dividends in the long run.
And he has assured fans that a lack of new signings is no indication of inaction behind the scenes.
“I know what it’s like to be a fan,” Courts told Courier Sport.
“You just want to celebrate the new signing, get excited by them and get to know them — to feel like your club is active in the market.
“But recruitment is dominating every meeting we have at the moment, in addition to preparing for Aberdeen on Sunday.
“We’re a little bit frustrated that we haven’t been able to secure any more signings up to now, but by the same token I don’t want to be reactive to the fact we haven’t been able to yet secure our primary targets.
“They are still our primary targets. We just need to be a little more patient.
“It’s important that I stress that we do know what is required here, in terms of creating competition and taking our style of play to the next level.
“In order to get that, we just need to be a little more patient than we would like.
“But we are still firmly in control of the process.”
‘Pedigree and experience’
Courts added: “We wanted to secure the two quickly that we did, Trevor [Carson] and Charlie [Mulgrew]. In them, we have recruited two high quality individuals with top quality pedigree and experience. We have really felt their impact.
“The next step is to bring in the next batch who will really help us hit the next level.”
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United found themselves credited with an interest in former Everton midfielder Beni Baningime, who ultimately joined Hearts on a three-year contract on Thursday afternoon.
“I was a little surprised to be asked about him,” continued Courts. “He is not a name I had heard of, until I saw he had joined Hearts. There was no link, no dialogue and no awareness from our perspective.”