PAOLO Di Canio will hold fire in the transfer market until financial investment in his squad over the summer is guaranteed.

The Town manager is set to hold meetings with the Swindon Town hierarchy later this week to discuss plans for the future and he has stressed that, once that financial backing is assured, he is ready to put pen to paper on a new contract.

A state of limbo currently exists at the County Ground, despite a sensational season on the pitch, with Di Canio unwilling to commit to any firm approaches for players.

But he has moved to soothe fans’ fears of a potential departure from SN1 by claiming he would be the “happiest person in the world” if everything came to a satisfactory conclusion, allowing him to stay at the club for the foreseeable future.

“Jeremy (Wray, Town’s interim chairman) and Russell (Backhouse, board member) I have a fantastic relationship with,” he told the Advertiser. “We’re always in contact and they have very high intentions to keep going in this way.

“We have to have the finance from other people. It’s obvious between me and Russell and the chairman there is an agreement in terms of contract and plans for the future – we have to only have the finance from the people that have to say yes.

“We will have a meeting and see what is going on. It is a normal thing in football. I hope they will be positive because I can’t wait to start again.

“I have started already in my opinion but once they clarify the situation I can start in a proper way and start contacting players.

“I have watched many League One games and also Championship games and I have already four or five players we can go through, and also the loan players like Lee Holmes, Jay McEveley and John Bostock – players we have to clarify the situation with.

“At the moment I can’t tell them ‘stay’ because we don’t know what’s going on.

“When I say ‘if, if’ it is because my word is a strong word and remains exactly the same. So I have to be clear.

“I want to stay here. I don’t want to even move the stuff in my house. I want to keep my stuff in my house.

“If everything is okay I will be the happiest man in the world, the most happy member of Swindon Town Football Club.”

Equally, Di Canio is not about to start releasing players until he has been assured the investment is there.

The Italian has made it clear he will look to revamp the squad ahead of pre-season, as he looks to make an instant impression on League One.

That will inevitably leave the Robins boss with the need to trim down his playing staff, but at present the revolving door has not yet started rotating.

“It’s not fair to say now to some players ‘you are not in the plan’ if there is not the same plan,” said Di Canio.

“If there is a sudden decision and Di Canio is sacked, maybe they want to stay and the board want to keep those players.

“I will do my job in this way. Once they confirm the plan for the future I can say we have a plan for the future.”