Wycombe Wanderers boss Gareth Ainsworth says competing against club's with higher budgets has hindered his progress in the transfer market

The arrivals last week of Garry Thompson and Ryan Sellers were Wycombe’s first of the summer and boosted the number of players at Ainsworth’s disposal to 13 – a figure which will rise by one if Hogan Ephraim, who is in ongoing talks with the club, signs on the dotted line.

Financial restraints are once again Ainsworth’s biggest enemy as he looks to assemble a competitive squad for the upcoming League Two season with the Blues manager admitting that the riches on offer elsewhere have lured a number of his targets away from Adams Park.

He said: “Every player that I’m interested in five or six clubs are also interested in, and four or five of those are probably able to pay more than us. It then comes down to the player and whether he wants a challenge at Wycombe Wanderers or the bigger money that other clubs can afford to offer.

“That’s what we’re up against. One day hopefully we can start outbidding other teams. It’s been a great learning experience for myself, Andrew Howard has been absolutely key again in summer recruitment and I think I’ve spoken to him more than my missus this summer.

“Richard Dobson and Barry Richardson have been incredible as well. We’ve been in a lot more than you would expect over the summer months to work hard on getting players in, but we know our limitations, we know we have to work hard on that side of it and I’m not complaining about that one bit.”

Aaron Pierre is currently the Chairboys’ only recognised centre-back following the expiration of Alfie Mawson’s loan deal, leaving Ainsworth to fill the sizable void left by the club’s Player of the Season.

Fellow League Two sides such as Portsmouth and Oxford are busily compiling squads filled with a number of players for every position – a luxury which isn’t likely to be seen anytime soon at Adams Park. “It’s (centre-back) definitely high on my priority list and there are a few names that we’re talking to,” said Ainsworth.

“Once again we’ve had a few that we were talking to, very preliminary talks, but they were just taken by bigger and better things. Some teams will have 30 professionals on their books in League Two, which I think is crazy.

“That means that at least 19 players won’t have a game on a Saturday, won’t be anywhere near the squad on a Saturday and that’s hard to take as a professional.

“I’m going to stick to my low numbers, which I have to because of budget but there’s always a route to the first team at Wycombe and you’re always within touching distance of the first team.

“That alone brings players in and we’ll be working really hard. We can’t just go out and buy someone else if someone’s not doing it, we have to make sure we train them the right way, develop them the right way and if there are mistakes we rectify them with the players.”

Ainsworth, who will be undertaking his third full season in charge of the club, said it would be “great” if Ephraim decides his future lies with Blues but that the club have other targets lined up should the midfielder seek pastures new.

The 42-year-old declined to put a number on the amount of new arrivals he wants to bring in, instead stating that the club will be bringing more players in permanently and on loan – an area of recruitment which was “crucial” last season.

He said: “The days of having three subs on the bench I don’t think have gone for Wycombe yet. We probably will have to field less than seven subs in many games.

“I can only put three (substitutes) on and as long as the three I’ve got are good enough to go on and do a job then that’s fine for me.

“After last year, I want people to get behind us and remember the buzz of coming to the games and not look at the points total so much and just remember the spirit, the work ethic, the togetherness we had and bring that down to Adams Park this year.

“There’s no reason why we can’t give a good account of ourselves this season.”