But he admits he could be in the market for players in other departments if he loses anyone during the close season.

As things stand, Irvine feels he has sufficient cover for every position bar left midfield and at the heart of the defence.

He said: "Those two are where my priorities must lie at the moment.

"We do not have any natural cover on the left-side of midfield if anything happened to Lewis Neal.

"And we are going to be short at the back because Liam Chilvers looks like he will be out until December.

"I wouldn't want to go into the new season with only three central defenders."

Work has already begun to plug the holes and ideally Irvine wants to recruit before the squad returns for pre-season training on July 1.

He has accepted he will not be flush with money as he attempts to fill the two gaps.

The top priority is centre-half, a position the manager believes is a vital one in the Championship.

Chilvers' ruptured Achilles tendon has left him with just Sean St Ledger, Youl Mawene and youngster Neal Trotman.

With all three banned at least once last season – their combined card count was three reds and 25 yellows – Irvine feels it could be asking a lot for the trio to reach Christmas without at least one suspension or injury.

He said: "I think it is obvious we have got a problem at the back and it is one we might need to solve at this time.

"Of all the positions that you don't want to be left a little short in the Championship, centre-back is probably a key one.

"We have players who could fill in at a push. But it is certainly an area we need to look at.

"If Liam hadn't been injured I wouldn't even be considering it.

"But I don't feel you can operate with only three in that department for half a season.

"Centre-backs pick up suspensions really easily. All three of them have been banned last season.

"So it is a situation I really have to be concerned about and I have to try and do something about."
The left-side of midfield has been a problem position for some time, although Neal broke into the starting line-up in the latter weeks of the season and looked good.

Among others, Simon Whaley, a right-sided player, had been filling the role prior to that.

Irvine said: "That is the other position where we don't have any natural cover.

"We have had Simon playing out there at times, Chris Sedgwick has played there and, at a push, Callum Davidson and Matt Hill can also play there.

"But the only natural one we have is Lewis. So that is also an area we need to look at.

"Other than those two positions there is a balance to the squad.

"We are always looking to improve what we have got. But right now there is an urgency in terms of improving those two positions."

>> Irvine plans busy pre-season programme

>> New three-year deal for Davidson