NEWPORT County AFC manager Justin Edinburgh insists he is in no rush to add to his squad with more than five weeks before the big kick-off.

The Exiles returned for pre-season training in Newport this week ahead of their first friendly at Evesham United on Tuesday.

New signings Darren Jones and Yan Klukowski were present along with former loan star Kevin Feely, who has signed permanently following his release by Charlton Athletic.

Edinburgh revealed that he is looking at a number of players on a trial basis this week and some will feature at Evesham.

But, with the League Two season not beginning until August 9, he’s prepared to bide his time on any more additions to the squad.

“The new players have all settled in very quickly,” said the Exiles boss.

“Kevin was obviously here before, Darren is coming back to the club and Yan has played with a few of the lads and against most of them.

“We’ve got three trialists with us as well at the moment and we’ll hopefully be able to have a look at them in training and give them some game time in the first few friendlies.

“But I don’t want too many in the squad at the moment; we’ve got 21 signed pros, 22 with Byron Anthony, and I think that’s a good number.

“There’s obviously room for improvement if the right player comes along and we’ll monitor the situation but I think for the next few weeks we won’t see much activity.”

Edinburgh is pleased with the first two days of training at the Newport International Sports Village and the new base at the former Bar Amber at Spytty Park.

But he admits that pre-season has changed a lot since his days at Southend United in the late 1980s and Tottenham Hotspur in the 1990s.

“It’s certainly changed a bit since I was doing pre-season as a player,” he said.

“We used to shut down for six weeks but you can’t do that these days.

“In my day you’d come back to get fit but the players have kept themselves in fantastic shape throughout the summer.

“Really we’re just picking up where we left off and slowly and gradually fine-tuning them.

“A lot of people will say they’re professionals and they’re paid to do that but it’s a credit to them that they’ve all looked after themselves very well in the summer.

“Everyone is feeling good and we’re all looking forward to a successful season ahead.”