Pompey boss Paul Cook wants to excite fans with some of his summer signings - and intends to use his budget to the full.

The manager says he is not afraid to pay decent money - as long as he is not going over-budget - on players he feels can bring extra quality to the squad.

As Huddersfield's Duane Holmes and Chesterfield's Jay O'Shea emerge as early summer targets, Cook told The News: 'When we get to the pain of June and we watch England get knocked out of the Euros, I want everyone to fall back on me. I want our fans to get picked up by the signings we make.

‘That’s the important thing now. We need to excite them, especially at the top end of the pitch. Our fans have to have a level of player.

‘We weren’t the highest payers in the division this season. That flabbergasts me. We’re Portsmouth Football Club — and someone in this division paid more money than us. We can’t go spending millions. We won’t do it.

‘But if you have a £2m budget and 20 players, that’s £100,000 per player — or £2,000 a week. What do you get? We’ve got Ben Tollitt on next to nothing around the squad, so I may as well give someone £4,000 a week.

‘Balance it up. This is where the budget has to be spent well. A budget is a budget.’

Cook won't talk about individual names he is after but did say: ‘We’re quite happy if we get the ones we want over the line. The nucleus of our squad is good, but there are key areas where we need that little bit more devilment.

‘These are areas where you can have players you trust a bit more. It’s hard with the loan thing. If I’d had a small squad we wouldn’t have any players.

‘I’m into quality. I’d rather spend more on a player knowing our fans want to see quality. It’s where we’re up to with finances now. It’ no good getting to the fourth round of the Cup and filling stadiums every week if we don’t spend money.'

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