With three key players signed up to contracts and four summer signings already in the bag, things are looking prosperous at Shawbridge. Assistant-manager Ryan Parr hasn’t rested since the final league game of the 2014-15 campaign, as he has an exciting update on the way the summer has gone so far for the club.

Ryan Parr: “Only since I have been involved in management have I realised that it’s only really the players who have a closed season. In fact the season finishing is a catalyst for the work to begin for most things at any football club, from ground repairs, to pitch renovations to countless phone calls chasing players.

“Obviously through the website and social media, everyone can see that we have been busy in adding to the good nucleus of players we had here last season.

“If we are truly honest though, the work for us started last season in securing Sefton, Lynchy and Danny Brady on contract terms. Then in the week the season finished we had a very successful meeting with the club, where it was clear we are united in our aim for Clitheroe FC next season and beyond.

“From here we have been securing lads from last season and also looking at bring in some new additions to help improve us going in to next year. We are delighted to announce that on top of Sefton, Lynchy and Brady, the majority of last year’s squad will be returning.

“The addition of Gregg Anderson speaks for itself, it is an absolutely brilliant signing for us. He is a big, strong, quick centre half, with 10 year’s non-league experience, he is a great lad who already has an affection for the club from his previous spell here.

“Scott Harries is another exciting signing, he is extremely fast, has great fitness levels and is great with the ball at his feet. Jimmy Heywood, is another great signing, he is a leader, his talking is exceptional which something we lack generally as a team. He is experienced and loves to get forward. Tom Murphy is also a top signing, he is a strong and solid left back, who can also play at centre half, he has good distribution and was someone who really impressed us last year when we watched him.

“We believe that with these 4 signings we have strengthened our squad significantly, and have added experience which is an area we feel we needed to improve from last year. Additional to the signings we have announced we also have a handful of lads coming in who we are just keeping under the radar for now, but who we are only going to strengthen us further.

“We still have a few irons in the fire also, with lads we are working on getting here. It is fair to say that each one of the new recruits have been handpicked and are lads we have recruited. We also know that the position we are in as a club we will still be recruiting through the pre-season. We understand that clubs with bigger budgets than ourselves will take in a lot of lads each summer with the promise of bigger money, but when pre-season gets into full swing and lads realise they aren’t first choice they then become available again.

“In an ideal world we would have all lads available from the start of pre-season but we understand our position as a club and saw last season that this is a time when good players can become available.

“With bringing in new players it obviously means that unfortunately we also have to lose some players. I’m sure most of you are aware that Danny Morton has joined Stockport County, in what is a great move for him. It was no secret how highly we rated Danny and have said for a good few months we believed he was the best right back in the league. Danny goes with our best wishes and we really hope this is just the first step up the footballing ladder for him.

“Seydou Bamba, Laquan Esdaille-Biney and Richard Burns will not be returning next year either and all move on with our best wishes. Tom Jackson and Jack Hargreaves have joined Barnoldswick Town where they will go to gain valuable non-league experience.

“We are now two weeks away from the start of pre-season training and it is fair to say we are now just excited to get this group together and start our preparations for the forthcoming season. We have some great friendlies lined up at home against Stockport County, Curzon Ashton and Ramsbottom, and away against Barnoldswick Town, Shelley and Darwen.

“The pre-season sessions have all been planned and it is fair to say the lads fitness levels will be a match for any in our league come August, but we will also have valuable time to work on shape and other specific areas which can be difficult to work on in depth during the season simply due to time.

“The league once again is very strong, we have obviously lost two very big teams in Salford and Darlington, but with Witton Albion, Trafford and Glossop North End coming in it is sure to be a tough league again.

“Our aim is to continue the progression from last year, we proved more than once last year that on our day we are a match for any team in our league, what we needed was consistency and we believe with the experience and quality we have added this summer we can improve our consistency significantly.

“All in all we are very pleased with our preparations so far and are really hoping for a good pre-season and to then carry that forward into a successful 2015/16 campaign.”