PAUL Casson has told Barrow AFC fans not to panic despite the recent flurry of exits from Holker Street.

The departures of Jordan Williams – to Rochdale – Paul Turnbull and Ross Hannah – both to Chester – over the past two weeks have left the Bluebirds with just 10 contracted players.

But AFC owner Casson – who will fly into town from his Texas home and meet with supporters next week – insists there is a method to the club's recruitment and releasing of players and a plan is in place.

“If the supporters are getting a little antsy, well we don't have a game yet for a couple of months, so I wouldn't worry too much about it,” the millionaire businessman said. “When it is all configured, I think they will see there is a method to the madness.”

While Williams, Turnbull and Hannah have all departed Holker Street since manager Paul Cox announced his retained and released lists last month, only two new faces have come in.

Former Wrexham front-man Jordan White and Witton Albion winger Bradley Bauress will pull on the Barrow shirt next season, with Casson saying more will follow in short order to plug the gaps.

“It doesn't look threadbare to me,” he said of the squad. “It's early June, and it's way too early to even think about that.

“We're being very careful about who we choose to bring in. The diligence this year has been much greater, because it's important.

“You look at how we and other teams play, and it really is a fairly small squad at the end of the day that actually plays. Those 14 or 15 players who comprise your core have to be exactly right, because they are the ones who are going to play 80 per cent of the time.

“We're being very careful to slot in each player we pick – particularly those who we think have great up-side and will develop. You have to get them on the pitch and playing.

“One of the problems we had last year with Harry Panayiotou, for example, is that we believe he has all the potential on the planet, but you can't develop that if you can't find a spot on the pitch for him to play.

“We're being very careful. We don't want to get into a situation where we bring in so many players, and we are left looking around wondering how we are going to get them to develop, because we can't find a spot for them to play. They are not going to develop playing 15 minutes coming off the bench.

“In my conversations with Paul and Paul, what we're trying to do is make sure the players we bring in have real potential, that there is a real opportunity for them to play and play a lot.

“I just think, with the way it is developing, and with what could potentially come up, it could be a very exciting team to watch. It will be something a little different from what we have had in the past, very dynamic and young, and I think it is going along very well.”

While Casson may not think the AFC squad is threadbare, there is still the potential for further exits.

Rochdale are not the only club to have noticed the talent in the team, with League One and Two clubs also sniffing around last season's retained players.

The AFC owner confirmed that one bid has already been received for a player, and there was an expression of interest in one other, with Nick Anderton, Richie Bennett and Moussa Diarra the three most likely targets.

“There have been bids already,” said the Dallas-based chairman. “I can't reveal too much more at this moment.

“The Football League are having their annual meetings over in Portugal, so it is all a bit in limbo at the moment, but I think next week the activity will pick up pace.

“There has been one enquiry on one player, and one actual bid on another. The bid is under consideration and we have promised to get back to them with an answer. It has not been accepted yet, but it is in the region where it might be.”

Despite that interest and possible acceptance of an offer, Casson insisted he was not selling and releasing players left, right and centre.

Asked if he could assure fans there was not a fire sale, with AFC selling all their best assets, he said: “All these things are done with a certain amount of care – looking at whether the player would benefit or not, and the player always has the final word at the end of the day. We're not selling anybody willy-nilly.

“It's basically part of our plan, we are trying to develop that mentality that our players are good enough and they will always attract attention. It's our job to then bring in players who will make ready replacements.

“Strike-wise, we have brought in Jordan White, we have Dan Cockerline, whom we expect to develop, so there will be five there for four places – al of whom we want to keep.

“Bradley Bauress is basically a perfect replacement for Jordan Williams, and we are looking at looking at players in every position. We are close on two or three at the moment.

“There is a plan. We're trying to upgrade every position. We intend, when the season starts, to be better in every position than we were last season.”

Questioned on whether the departures of Turnbull and Hannah were money-saving exercises, or if the players were surplus to requirements, the Barrow owner said: “Both of them are great guys, absolutely perfect, but they weren't really in Paul Cox's plans for next year.

“It was not about saving money, absolutely not.”

Casson, Cox and AFC chief scout Paul Ogden will be part of a panel at a fans forum at the Crossbar on Thursday. Doors will open at 6pm, with the question and answer session starting an hour later.