Herring aims to contribute on the pitch for Hungerford during the new season

The manager feels he can still offer the squad something on the pitch

IAN Herring is aiming to have a busy pre-season with Hungerford Town in order to keep himself in contention to feature next season.

The 34-year-old played a number of times for the Crusaders last season while also managing the club with the help of coach Jeremy Newton.

Preparations have already begun at Bulpit Lane for next season as Hungerford get set for their third consecutive season in the National League South.

Speaking about the possibility of playing, Herring said: “We’ll see how it goes over the course of pre-season.

“I’ll obviously keep myself fit and I’ve still got a lot to offer on the playing side.

“We’re trying to recruit and if it means I can step back then great, but if I need to play then it’s fine.

“I’ll take it as and when pre-season comes round.”

The Crusaders have announced that Rhys Tyler and Scott Rees have both departed the club, while Richie Whittingham, Conor Lynch, Daniel Bailey, James Rusby and Alex Fragata have all signed on for the new campaign.

Further to this, Herring has signed former Whitehawk player Romone Rose and believes he will be a key figure in the squad.

“I think it’s an exciting signing for everyone at the club,” Herring said.

“He adds experience at this level, but he also adds that bit of quality in the final third, attacking areas and creating chances by scoring goals as well.

“He’s a threat and I can see him being a big player for us next season.”

The Crusaders boss also hopes to have all Hungerford’s friendlies confirmed within the next week as they look to improve on last season’s position.

Herring also admitted that recruitment at the club is going to be key, with more new faces expected to arrive at the club.

He said: “There’s a lot of work going on at the moment away from the pitch with recruitment for players and also trying to get additional revenue in through sponsorship, which everyone in the club, including myself, is working very hard on.

“We’re not going to be feeding from the top of the pond in the sense of what we can offer players financially, but we can offer them a very professional approach.

“We want players that want to be at our football club.”

Herring has asked for supporters to be patient throughout the summer and knows that they’ll be crucial for the club once again next season.

He said: “I just ask everyone who is supporting the club to be patient.

“We’ve got a budget and that was set towards the end of last season when I was given sole charge of the club.”