AS Town prepare for their first friendly of pre-season, it is fair to say there has been a whiff of summer discontent, or at the very least mild confusion, among elements of their support.

Social media and message boards have been awash with fans desperate to hear of something, nay anything, happening at the County Ground.

The off-season began at a terrific pace, albeit with news fans might not have wanted to hear, though the outgoings of Ben Gladwin and Massimo Luongo did at least net the club a few million quid, providing hope that might be reinvested in the squad.

That pair were to be joined through the exit door, most notably by Wes Foderingham and Andy Williams.

Again dreams of a raft of incomings were ramped up. It was surely inevitable, with the Town squad resembling a carcass recently departed by vultures.

Since then the sound of pen on paper at the County Ground has been almost entirely absent.

There has been just one incoming, that of Brandon Ormonde-Ottewill, confirmed by the Advertiser, then three weeks later ‘revealed’ by the club, plus the news that Anton Rodgers had signed a new deal.

With respect, while the arrival of the former added a certain intrigue factor, those have not exactly blown the socks off the County Ground faithful.

Until the reports of the likely imminent arrival of Liverpool trio - Jordan Williams, Kevin Stewart and Ryan Kent - yesterday, it was feasible Town might have turned up at the Webb’s Wood tonight with just 13 first-team pros, four of which are strikers.

However, it is not just the lack of signings worrying supporters. It is a general lack of communication.

Currently a chosen method the club are using to disseminate information from the County Ground is the woeful Fanzai app, a social media tool used, it seems, mostly by clients of Town’s transfer adviser Michael Standing that has caused head-scratching bewilderment from supporters.

Throughout the Mark Cooper to Sheffield Wednesday saga, the club remained silent.

Not entirely a surprise, granted, but with him having decided to stay a statement of support for the man who led them to Wembley might have added clarity to a confused situation.

The Advertiser are still waiting to hear (without bated breath) why we are not allowed to attend press conferences or talk to officials. There was an indication that chairman Lee Power was going to enlighten us in the wake of the play-off final but, at six months and counting, a clue as to even the reasons why the ban was imposed has not been forthcoming.

Even the good news on Swindon’s temporary use of the Beversbrook facility for training was announced with little fanfare. He won’t care, but a little bit of appreciation for the hard work done by Fraser Digby in doing the deal would surely have been in order.

Of course everyone deserves a summer holiday.

For football clubs that goes double because it is literally the only time they can take a break and, of course, they are under no obligation to feed the voracious appetite for updates from media and supporters alike.

However, with season ticket sales not exactly flying - in the chairman’s own words at the end of last season – the, shall we say, disappointing Wembley day and the near-exodus of last season’s playing squad, would a few morsels of positive PR thrown in the direction of fans have been too much to ask?

Last season especially, Power was frequently to be heard bemoaning a perceived apathy among supporters and the town in general at the exploits of his club.

But if a business won’t talk to its ‘customers’, is it surprising if its customers lose interest?

A break is fine, neglect less so.