Padiham bosses plotting major summer overhaul after staving off the drop

Morning, 32, will be let off the leash when the transfer window opens for business as he looks to give his squad a complete makeover in time form the new term.

The former Salford City midfielder has been quite frank in relation to the current group at the Ruby Civil Arena and only four players are expected to survive the cull.

Having survived a big scare this season, when the threat of relegation was on the cards, Morning wants to build a side more than capable of holding their own in the Hallmark Security League Premier Division.

He certainly doesn’t want to experience the stress and the pressure that he’s been put under ever again during his managerial career.

“Myself and Michael Morrison have got our own project now,” he said. “It’s not down to anybody else. It’s going to be our team so it’s up to us to get the job sorted now.

“If we don’t improve then we’ll be under threat of going down again next season. It’s not a good situation to be in. It’s been a good experience, one that I’ll never forget, but I don’t want to ever be in that position again!

“Fortunately, we get to go again in the Premier Division next term. That’s a massive bonus. But the majority of the squad won’t be here next season.

“I’ve seen enough now so there won’t be many staying, possibly three or four. The conversations won’t be nice but it’s got to be done.

“I need to get better players in so it’s going to be a completely different Padiham. Hopefully we can get between 12 and 14 new faces in.”

Morning isn’t a gambling man but if he was he’d be willing to put his mortgage on their being significant improvements at Padiham next term.

He said: “We’re going to have a holiday but work has already begun. We won’t sign any players this early but we will speak to our targets.

“We’ll look to get our squad in place as quickly as we can, we’ll put the groundwork in now, and we’ll try and get our pre-season friendlies confirmed.

“I want to be organised. We need to get everything in place so we can start getting an idea of how we want to play.

“I’d put my mortgage on us improving things, though. We’ve got that experience under our belts now and we’ve seen what this league is about.

“That will make us a lot stronger. The league is getting tougher, there are some very strong sides coming in to it, but there’s no question mark in my mind as to whether we’ll survive. It’s a fresh start for us now. Our ambition is to finish in the top eight next year.”