Coach Kevin Johnson believes Holcombe could be the place to be next season.

Great Britain and England international pair Laura Unsworth and Maddie Hinch signed for Holcombe at the end of last week.

Their arrivals followed the summer switch to Holcombe Park for Great Britain’s men’s captain Barry Middleton and fellow Olympian Dan Fox.

“The signings of Laura and Maddie are a statement of intent about our aspirations as a club,” said Johnson, who guided the women’s side to the National League last season.

“Rather than join a team at the top, they want to be part of the journey here at Holcombe. Maddie comes from a top Premiership team in Leicester but both see this as a challenge.

“Three-quarters of teams that go up from our level end up going down again but we want to make sure we are competitive. I fully believe in the squad and we are not going in there to make up the numbers.

“We want to do our best and for some, playing National League will be an unknown quantity but I believe we can be a force and we’ve now got strength in depth and cover when we need it.

“People who watched the hockey at the Olympics and thought it was quite nice can watch that quality here at Holcombe."