Ashford boss Steve Lovell is plotting an assault on the Ryman League Division 1 South promotion race next season.

After a disappointing campaign in which the Nuts and Bolts avoided relegation by just one place and four points, Lovell (pictured) hopes to attract new faces to the club to bolster his existing squad.

He said: "Since the end of the season we’ve never stopped working. We want to know where we’re going. We want to have a go this season.

"We want to have a better year than last season, that’s for sure. We want to push as high as we can – the play-offs at least."

He added: "We are a long way forward from where we were a year ago. We didn’t know if we’d be a club or not then. We’re more like in the position we were in two years ago."

Lovell said he was keen to keep the ‘nucleus of the squad together’ and added: "Everybody is welcome back. In pre-season everyone will have an opportunity to get into the squad.

"I’m not asking anyone to leave and nobody has requested to leave."

Lovell revealed he had held budget talks with chairman Don Crosbie and new academy director Mark Patterson, who will also be acting as Lovell’s assistant after the departure of Hugo Langton. Lovell said: "I sat down and spoke with Don and Mark and we came up with a solution to work with next year."