Chorley boss wants more firepower

7:09am Wednesday 25th June 2008

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Peak fitness, iron discipline and 100 per cent commitment to the cause will be the cornerstone as Tony Hesketh’s preparations for his first full season as Chorley manager.

Hesketh, who steered a team of largely inherited players to UniBond League safety after taking over from Gerry Luczka with less than 12 weeks of last season remaining, will have a mixture of old and new when training for the new season starts next Thursday, July 3.

“I’m optimistic that we will have a number of new faces,” he said. “And a large part of our plans will centre around young players.

“We don’t have a large budget and we have to cut our cloth accordingly. We can’t afford to make expensive signings so we need to bring in young talent and help them become better players.

“My ambition is to lead this team out of the First Division and we have a nucleus of players who with reinforcements would be good enough to hold their own in the UniBond Premier. We had a winning finish with maximum points from the last two games and coach Phil Brown and I want to build on that with confident, attacking football.

“All of last season’s squad have been invited back and we’ll have to see who does well and who agrees terms.

”We need everyone to be very fit and with a tightening of discipline and absolute commitment from the players, will be looking for a big improvement in the goals for column.

“Shortage of firepower was a big problem last season and we know we have to score more goals, from all outfield departments.”

Chorley won seven (six in the league) and drew two of their 18 matches after Hesketh took over in February, and their nine defeats included one at the hands of Blue Square side Southport in the Lancashire FA Trophy final and three odd-goal losses in the league.

He said when he took the job that the Magpies would need six league victories to avoid relegation, and Hesketh did what he came to do to piloted the team to safety.