Toffees manager David Moyes yesterday voiced his frustration at the threadbare nature of his squad just two weeks before the start of the Barclays Premier League season, which he believes requires "five or six players" to remain competitive.

"We cannot hide the fact that we need new players at Everton," Moyes said. "Everybody knows it, I know it, the players know it.

"It is okay getting fit, but you have got to be able to play better. At the moment there is not enough competition for the players to realise that if they play poorly they will not be selected."

After another promising season at Goodison Park last time out, which ended with Everton clinching fifth place and a spot in the UEFA Cup, there is growing concern among supporters that the prospects for the new campaign might not be so bright.

While loan players Manuel Fernandes and Thomas Gravesen have gone back to their respective clubs and striker Andy Johnson is on the verge of joining Fulham, no new talent has been brought in this summer, leading some to question whether the proposed move to a new stadium in Kirkby might be hampering the club financially.

But Kenwright insists it is a case of when, not if, Moyes' squad is strengthened.

"Whilst I can fully understand the sense of frustration being felt by our supporters in the wake of what some perceive to be a moratorium with regard to the signing of new players, I feel it is important to make a few points," he told www.evertonfc.com.

"Our attempts to complete the signings of players we believe will improve the quality of our first-team squad continues on an hourly basis.

"We have had a budget for incoming transfers since the start of the summer - and that budget is in no way reliant or dependent upon either the proposed relocation of the club to Kirkby or the sale of current players.

"Indeed, any proceeds from outgoing transfers will - you can rest assured - be added to the existing budget to strengthen our manager's hand as he seeks to enter the transfer market.

"David and myself have been trying throughout the close season to sign those players whom he believes will help to improve the squad which achieved so much during the last campaign."

Kenwright added: "Like everyone connected with Everton Football Club I am desperately keen to see the arrival at Goodison Park of those players our manager would like to see in a blue shirt come next season.

"I appreciate that waiting can be hard and that patience is invariably in short supply but we do expect to make signings before the opening of the new Premier League season."