Torquay United's Jimmy Ball Embraces Patience in Squad Rebuild

Jimmy Ball is not in a hurry. Not anymore.

Torquay United’s manager has watched his squad bend and reshape across the opening weeks of the season, with key players leaving and a clutch of new faces arriving. The temptation in those moments is usually to scramble. Ball has chosen control instead.

The Gulls have moved smartly in the market over the past week, dipping into Plymouth Argyle’s talent pool to bring in youngsters Tegan Finn and Caleb Roberts, while defender Oludare Olufunwa and winger Angelo Cappello have also come through the door.

Set against that, the club has lost striker Jordan Young, defender Sam Dreyer and winger Dylan Morgan in recent weeks – departures that would spook plenty of managers at this level.

Ball sounds anything but rattled.

"There's a couple of positions within the squad I'd like to strengthen," he told BBC Radio Devon. "But I'm in a position now where I can take my time and make sure of the decisions that I'm making.

"Not that we didn't have all the lads we've brought in on a list, on a radar, but there's no rush now.

"But I'd like to bring one more in for sure. But there's no rush about it, it's going to be a calculated one."

That word – calculated – fits the arc of his short reign.

Ball took over in March after Paul Wotton’s sacking and immediately steadied a listing club, dragging Torquay to a third-placed finish in National League South. They came within touching distance of promotion, only to fall in a dramatic play-off final at Hornchurch in May.

The hangover from that heartbreak showed. Torquay stumbled out of the blocks this season, looking more like a side still processing what might have been than one ready to storm out of the sixth tier at the fourth attempt.

Then the mood shifted.

Back-to-back wins have lifted the Gulls to eighth in National League South and given Ball the breathing space he craved. With points finally flowing, he can afford to be picky in the market rather than reactive.

He insists the recruitment work being done behind the scenes is matching his ambition to haul Torquay back up the pyramid after four seasons marooned in the sixth tier. One more signing, the right one at the right time, is the next piece in that plan.

The rush is over. The real build starts now.