Let’s talk about planning. It isn’t the most exciting subject, I admit. However, taking care of the details and projecting into the future is profoundly important, and has been the reason for real optimism this Summer.

Firstly, the redevelopment of the squad is going well. Fans have hankered for more activity but, as I suggested a couple of weeks ago, there’s no point in rushing into signings. Phil Parkinson is right to play the long game and try to ensure  he brings in the necessary quality to upgrade his options.

Lewis Brunt and George Dobson look like they fit the bill, and there’s bound to be more to come. When people ask me how well we can do next season, I suggest we wait until we see who we sign. Regardless of their identities, I know we’ll still be fine, but if Parkinson gets it right with the five or six players he’ll look to bring in (and his track record suggests he will), then why shouldn’t we be looking to achieve back-to-back-to-back promotions?

Both signings certainly fit the profile Wrexham’s recruitment team are looking for.

Brunt has had his technique developed at a Premier League academy – indeed he was Leicester City’s Academy Player of the Season in the season before last.

He also has league experience, having starred for Mansfield Town during their successful promotion campaign last season. The fury of The Stags’ fans when they heard we’d beaten them to his signature was all I needed to see to know we’d made a good signing.

Dobson, meanwhile, has plenty of higher level experience. In fact, since his youth career at West Ham United and Arsenal, he has only played in League One, except for a brief spell playing in the Netherlands’ top two tiers for Sparta Rotterdam.

He’s not the first ex-Sparta midfielder to join us: if he’s anywhere near as good for us as Darren Ferguson was, we’ll be laughing!

It’s not just the new signings which make me feel optimistic. Arthur Okonkwo’s decision to stay with us is massive: one of the best young keepers in the UK is going to continue his journey with us! I can get behind that!

Other players have agreed new contracts too, and the process of tying down the talent we already have, and which would serve us well if we go up again, is crucial.

George Evans, Tom O’Connor and Max Cleworth have all agreed to extend their stays at Wrexham, which is fantastic news. Remember a year and a half ago when the word was that O’Connor was bound for Coventry City after his superb performance against them in the FA Cup?

Well, he’s still here, and is now fresh from his outstanding performances in the promotion run-in.

We all knew what remarkable promise Cleworth has, as he has improved year-on-year for 3 seasons now.

As for Evans, I need say just one thing: I’ve never known a Wrexham player to be described as a Rolls Royce by so many people!

These extensions aren’t the only ones to celebrate though. Mark Howard and Steven Fletcher’s decisions to stay are great news: it’s hard to imagine a more reliable back-up than Howard, and the fact that he’s willing to continue in that role is great news for us. Okonkwo, Howard and Luke McNicholas are a remarkably high quality goalkeeping team.

Fletcher, of course, is a magnificent player. He might be used as an impact sub, but what an impact! Having him as an option is extremely exciting.

It’s all a far cry from our National League days, when long-term contracts were a rarity, and the squad underwent a complete reset every Summer (and plenty of Winters too!).

Indeed, a 12-month contract was unusual, because fifth tier clubs tended to look to make savings by issuing 10-month contracts. That meant unwanted players could be dumped two months early, at the end of the season.

The development of the squad isn’t the only evidence of sound planning underpinning our future. The announcement of a partnership with Darland High School, which will result in the development of a brand new training and administrative centre for our youth programme.

The development of training facilities is not easy; the red tape in Britain, which continues to astound Rob and Ryan, ensures that.

You can see why they’re frustrated by the levels of bureaucracy which seem designed to slow their progress when you look at an equivalent situation in the USA.

The cricket T20 World Cup has just been successfully hosted, in part, by the US. They were desperate to play in New York, but couldn’t find a suitable venue, so they decided to build one. Planning applied for in November, granted in January, 35,000 capacity stadium built by March. Simple!

It’s not been anywhere so easy over here, which has been a worry for our highly promising youth set-up: we achieved Category Four academy status, and were hoping to step up to Category Three for next season, but despite having aced other elements of the application process, the establish of a permanent base was a necessity.

Hopefully, that obstacle has been overcome now, and we can continue to build the youth system up, following on from its remarkable success last season.

Kudos to Darland too, who have seized the opportunity and, in a time when financial restrictions are hammering schools, entered into a partnership which, I assume, will provide them with facilities they can use for a reduced cost, or perhaps virtually no cost at all.

That’s the sort of smart thinking which can really help a school, and I suspect they won’t have too many problems attracting students. After all, they’re on the inside lane to have a big time star at their end of year award ceremony now!

This is the sort of community engagement the owners promised writ large. It neatly ties a bow on top of a couple of very positive weeks for the club.

From the first team to the academy, meticulous planning is bearing fruit. I love it when a plan comes together.