League will only get harder for Burr

Kidderminster Harriers manager Steve Burr has warned it will only get harder to get out of the Blue Square Premier next season with the new make up of the division.

The final 24 team line-up was only confirmed as final last weekend, after Oxford United beat York in the play-off final at Wembley to join champions Stevenage in the Football League.

They replace Grimsby and Darlington, who drop down from League Two, while Luton and York will also be looking to challenge again after finishing in the top five.

Forest Green, Ebbsfleet, Grays and Chester have all dropped out of the division, with last season strugglers left looking over their shoulders determined not to get sucked into the relegation dogfight again.

To spice things up record-breaking Newport and big-spending Fleetwood have come up for next season, along with Bath City and Southport.

Harriers finished 13th last term but harbour hopes of again challenging for a play-off place, although boss Burr admits it could be even harder to break through this time.

He said: "It obviously becomes much tougher each season and, as more teams drop out of the Football League, it only gets more competitive.

"Grimsby and Darlington are going to be spending a decent amount of money on playing budgets that they hope can send them straight back up.

"So they're going to be contenders, you would have to say, while the likes of Newport and Fleetwood coming up into the division have also spent big to get out of the Blue Square South and North respectively.

"With that, we're once again left with a good, competitive division once again and it is exciting to be playing against the kind of opposition we're up against.

"York will want to go again after narrowly missing out and of course Luton are still in there, so it will be a great campaign."