JAAP Stam is confident he is the right man to maximize the potential of his new-look Reading FC squad.

There have been wholesale changes at Madejski Stadium with 10 players from last season’s first-team departing over the summer and five new players – John Swift, Anssi Jaakkola, Joseph Mendes, Joey van den Berg and Danzell Gravenberch – joining the club, with Herthan Berlin winger, Roy Beerens, set to become the sixth.

In addition, another new face could soon be on board should Royals decide to offer Argentinian trialist Gaston Campi a deal.

The 25-year-old defender, who plays for Buenos Aires-based Racing Club, has been on trial with Stam's 21-man squad in Holland this week.

With £5 million in the bank from the recent sale of Aaron Tshibola to Aston Villa, it appears Stam’s transfer business is far from over following fresh links with Middlesbrough's 23-year-old wideman, Adam Reach.

And ex-Manchester United and Netherlands defender Stam says he is determined to squeeze every last drop of talent out of the players at his disposal.

He told the Reading Chronicle: “I’ve been impressed with the squad. I think it depends on what the manager is asking from his players.

“You will be surprised because a lot of players can do much more than they have shown on the pitch.

“Take myself. I was just a defender who could win headers, take the ball off strikers then give it to the midfield.

“But as a Dutch player I am also used to playing out from the back myself and taking the initiative with the ball.

“The thing is when a manager asks you to play in a certain way you need to be professional and do that.

“But you’ll be surprised when you see what some of these players can do, because lots of people will not have seen it before.”

However, Stam stopped short of suggesting Reading underperformed last season after labouring to a 17th-place finish in the Championship table.

“I don’t think I’m in a position to say that,” he stressed. “I’ve seen games from last season but it’s difficult for me to say what the situation was at the time.

“Quite a few players left at the end of the season, but it’s difficult to compare that team with the one we have now.”

Royals were accused of making too many loan signings last season which many fans felt disrupted team harmony.

However, all six – Matej Vydra, Michael Hector, Lucas Piazon, Ola John, Alex Fernandez and Andrew Taylor – have now left the club.

And it seems Stam is unlikely to go down a similar path.

“In general, you have to be aware of what you want to achieve with your squad,” he explained.

“Do you want to build a team with with young players, buy players of a certain quality or look for instant success with a lot of loan players? That’s a choice the club needs to make.

“But I want to build a team over time and get the results to take us to the next level. If you have your own players it’s easier to build over one or two seasons.

“If you have a lot of loan players they all go away at the end of the season and you need to build your team again.

“My philosophy is to build your own team, have a certain way of playing, maybe make one or two changes in the transfer window to give the team an extra boost.”