Rangers planning ahead for season

Stafford Rangers have set about their game plan of tying up the core of their squad by the time the players return to pre-season training on July 1.

Manager Chris Brindley has spent all week in talks with the current squad thrashing out plans for the new campaign, before the Rangers boss takes his summer holiday for a fortnight on Friday.

The club are trying to avoid a similar scenario to last summer, where players were still being signed right up to the start of the Blue Square North campaign, not to mention sifting through the trial brigade that were training with the first-team.

Rangers will still run the rule over selected unattached players but, after finishing the season with a fairly settled side, are making their primary concern keeping the base of what led them to safety at Marston Road in 2009/10.

Craig McAughtrie, a firm fan favourite who spent the last three months of the season back at the club on loan from Eastwood, has already been made the offer of a new one-year deal and expects to sign when the manager returns from holiday.

And assistant boss Darren Read believes that is a clear sign of how Rangers will set their stall out for the challenges ahead.

He said: "It shows the commitment of the club that we want to push forward now, and start creating a stable base to work from for the start of the new season.

"With that in place and the right players signed, sealed and delivered, pre-season is less of a training exercise with a lot of new faces coming and going. We would have a proper basis to work from and we can work on getting our game plan into action.

"We are looking to keep the majority of our squad together, with maybe two or three additions to help strengthen the side."