Dave Dempsey believes brighter times are ahead at Burscough as the Linnets boss discussed the “buzz” around the club.
The former Widnes and Clitheroe manager was tasked with steering the West Lancashire club away from the lower reaches of the North West Counties Premier Division.
Their journey to survival was far from plane sailing but they secured their fate for another season with a 3-1 win over rivals Skelmersdale United.
Dempsey told Off The Park: “We were 12 points off bottom, we survived with four games to play which was positive, it could’ve gone to the wire – which I thought it was going to at one point – but the lads got us out of the mire.
“Next year it’s about building a group of players that can kick on and compete at the right end of the table, I don’t see us as the team this year, next year, I think we’ll progress. In pre-season, we’ll hopefully bring in a few decent players and put us in a decent position on the pitch.”
Dempsey agreed that the period from November to April has been more of an extended pre-season but insists there is an intention to not stay still and push up the table.
“We’ve put together a group of players that it isn’t starting from scratch (in pre-season), whereas if we were at this point when we took over it would’ve been a busy pre-season,” he added.
“We can get continuity in the group, add one or two more to strengthen us which is a plan. We’re not going to stand still, we will try to improve the group.
“It’s been an eye-opener because of what we’ve been able to build in such a short space of time is the environment and the togetherness (across the club).
“Every single one has bought into what we want to do, there’s an excitement and buzz about the place, it’s good to be in and around.
“The work that the club are doing off the pitch, it’s growing arms and legs, it’s nice to be around but as a football manager, the main area of growth is on the pitch and that’s what we’re going to aim to do next year.”
