Mick McGraa has admitted that the opening months at Bootle have been among the toughest he has had to endure.
The former Vauxhall Motors boss succeeded David McNabb, following his move to Bury FC, and has had to deal with differing challenges, namely some of his players departing the club.
McGraa was forced to make new additions and has added the likes of Tony Thompson, Anthony Miley and Sam Hughes to name a few.
Three wins in four has catapulted the Bucks to within one point of the playoffs. This weekend, they host Hednesford Town – who sit precariously at the foot of the Northern Premier League West table.
“It’s been the toughest that I’ve ever had to deal with, there’s been lots of ins and lads going out,” he told Off The Park.
“We’re trying to build a squad that can be competitive, every time we seem to sign one or two, we lose one so it’s frustrating but the results have helped.
“I think we’re two or three (signings) away from being settled, we’re running with 16 players which isn’t enough. We need 18 or 19 to be competitive.
“We’ve been really good, we’ve been really aggressive and the type of team that I like. We do everything basic as well, lads have bought into what we want to do, I’m just disappointed we didn’t beat Nantwich, we were capable of doing that and had lots of chances,” McGraa added on the performances.
“The aim is to go as high as possible and be in the mix. We’re not going to get too carried, people win and lose, sometimes you lose when you should win, if you can stay in and around it at Christmas time, you can have a push.”
