THE summer is a mystifying time, full of intrigue and confusion.

You never know what a manager’s thinking is until you see what he does with the new set of players at his disposal.

This week’s new signings fit into that category: at first I was a little surprised, but when I thought about it a number of exciting new possibilities sprang to mind!

Let’s consider Seb Revan first. An impressive signing from Aston Villa, he shone at their academy alongside his brother, half of a back four which won the FA Trophy.

Seb built on that promise, starting with a spell on loan at Grimsby before impressing with a strong showing at Rotherham last season.

They might have been relegated, but Revan got a lot of experience in The Championship and, despite The Millers’ problems, strung together some good performances.

A full back, able to play on the left or the right, Revan is fast and, in the clips I’ve seen of him, has real quality in his delivery from the flanks.

He adds further depth to an area of the squad which is already well-stocked. Ryan Barnett, Luke Bolton and Anthony Forde are all options on the right, while we also have James McClean and Jacob Mendy on the left.

Revan hasn’t come here to sit on the bench, so with so many wing-back options, what has Parkinson cooked up?

Is it possible that this is part of a rather crafty plan? Bringing in another wide player opens up the possibility of using McClean (pictured right) in the centre of midfield and allowing Mendy and Revan to scrap it out on the left.

McClean didn’t play in the middle much last season, but he was hugely influential when he did. His six starts there all came between late February and early April, and I don’t think it’s coincidental that our final push to promotion came together at the same time.

McClean was in midfield for the thrashing of Accrington, the win at Morecambe and the impressive performance at MK Dons.

He played the first 34 minutes of the massive win at Colchester there too, until Mendy pulled up injured and forced a reshuffle. He contributed two goals and two assists in those games too.

Using McClean in the centre adds an element of strength, energy and quality to Parkinson’s options.

McClean is a force of nature, who constantly influences matters in his part of the pitch, one way or the other. Placing him at the heart of the action makes sense.

Of course, it might not be Parkinson’s intention to redeploy McClean. He asks a lot of his wing-backs, and regularly substitutes them, so maybe he just wants lots of depth in that position.

The wing backs are always crucial in a three-at-the-back system. They must be able to attack and defend and have terrific stamina to keep doing so for a whole match.

Parkinson is particularly demanding of them, as he wants them to spend a lot of time up the pitch, creating chances.

They therefore have to make numerous recovery runs and sprints into enemy territory, and naturally that takes a toll on their stamina.

That’s why, when he isn’t missing a wing-back option through injury or suspension, he tends to refresh both flanks with second half substitutions.

That was especially true when the chips were down in the run-in.

From February onwards, Parkinson only gave his right wing-backs a full 90 minutes twice in 19 games.

McClean’s remarkable resilience meant Parkinson could leave him on the pitch for the full game more regularly, but Mendy was only given three full matches in that period.

Revan wasn’t the only new signing this week though. Callum Burton’s arrival certainly doesn’t pose the same questions: goalkeepers don’t tend to free up positions elsewhere on the pitch.

However, he reveals Parkinson’s thinking on his goalkeeping options.

Burton’s signature was accompanied by news that Luke McNicholas is going on a season’s loan to Rochdale.

This is excellent news: I’ve already mentioned that I consider McNicholas to be a genuine talent with the potential to go far.

Playing week-in, week-out at Spotland will give him terrific experience and he’ll return to us having made a great leap forward in his game, I’m sure.

We couldn’t let him go without drafting someone in to complete the goalkeeping set-up though. Burton has great experience for a keeper willing to sign for a club that has just pulled off a coup by securing a goalie of the calibre of Arthur Okonkwo.

Add Mark Howard to the mix (and with his goalscoring feats in the summer, maybe he could be used further up the pitch!), and you’ve a lot of quality between the sticks.

Funnily enough, I reckon Parkinson might just know what he’s doing.