Gainsborough Trinity will look to go one more this season and somehow gain promotion from the PitchingIn Northern Premier League Premier Division.
Another good FA Cup run, saw them into the First Round Proper and made up for a second-round exit of the FA Trophy.
Corby Town, Rushall Olympic, Dunston UTS and a Hartlepool replay (which involved Simon Grayson’s last game on the touchline) all lead up to Accrington Stanley visiting the KAL Group Stadium where they ultimately ran out the 2-1 victors last season.
In terms of the league, Trinity came close yet again to the playoffs unfortunately missing out on the final day of the season with a 3-1 away defeat to Hyde United, where Russ Wilcox’s side needed all three points.
Over the summer, as they look for a top seven finish, Wilcox and his staff have made five new signings.
The first newbie was Lincoln United starman striker Connor Brown, who was swiftly followed by former Macclesfield midfielder Elliott Whitehouse, also formally of Lincoln City and Grimsby Town.
Brown will be well known to those in the Lincolnshire non-league circuit as he bagged 17 goals in all competitions last season and won the Fans’ Player of the Season award at Lincoln United before making the move just 20 miles north.
Next up for the Holy Blues was a new man in between the sticks, following the departure of regular number one David Robson, in the form of 26-year-old Callum Hawkins from Curzon Ashton of the Enterprise National League North.
Theo Williams signed on the dotted line for Trinity completing a permanent move to the club following the 23-year-olds original loan move to the club from Kings Lynn Town in December of last year.
Their final signing of pre-season was Ben Blythe, a centre-back who had most recently played for Quorn after coming up through the Leeds United youth set up.
Blythe has also played at other Lincolnshire outfits Spalding United and Bourne Town.
As well as incomings at the club, there have also been outgoings – David Robson and Sisa Tuntulwana.
Tuntulwana completed his move to Buxton in the off-season for an undisclosed fee as he had the opportunity to progress to full-time football.
These strengthening signings alongside Wilcox and his team keeping the core group of his side with key players like captain Bobby Johnson and vice-captain Lewis Butroid shows ambition.
Ahead of the campaign, Wilcox said: “I’m quietly proud of our successes so far and hope we can deliver more special memories – we will certainly be working at our maximum in order to try do so…
“However, I have to say that it has been a challenging close season with player wage inflation impacting our ability to compete with other clubs for our targets and the league becoming ever more competitive.”
Teams in and around where Trinity finished last season have been able to follow similar formulas to Trinity and strengthen.
However, with sides such as Bury, almost like a non-league Wrexham, coming in, this Premier Division looks as though it’s going to be a tough one for all involved.
If the Holy Blues can continue their form, especially from the FA Cup run, it’s impossible to see why they won’t be able to get possible playoffs and a strong chance at playing step two football next season – this alongside a decent cup, and possibly FA Trophy run.