GUISELEY boss Mark Bower has set his sights on strengthening his squad over the summer following the club’s survival heroics last weekend.

The Lions’ nailbiting 4-3 win over Torquay at Nethermoor was enough to safeguard their place in the Vanarama National League for a second season.

It was a dramatic end to their historic first season in the top flight of non-league football and Bower acknowledged there would be plenty of comings and goings over the next few months.

He said: “People on the outside probably think we’ve done really well to stay up, but we’ve got a good squad of players.

“We’ve not had the rub of the green at times and possibly should have finished a bit higher up.

“But we’ve established ourselves in the league, learnt some lessons and staying up puts in a stronger position to kick on and do well again next season.

“It’s no secret that we’ve drawn too many games and possibly lacked that clinical finisher.

“We’ve certainly got a good squad and the spine of a team, but obviously there will always be comings and goings over the summer.

“We have plans already in place and will step up those plans now we know we are safe.

“Not knowing has obviously held us back, but now we can press on with things.

“We have established ourselves at this level, so now we want to kick on and try and improve.”

Bower cited the success of Braintree in becoming a force in the National League and believes they are an example to follow.

Braintree finished third and are gunning for promotion to the Football League ahead of the play-offs.

Bower added: “You look at a smaller club like Braintree, for example, reaching the play-offs this year and that was a fantastic achievement for them.

“They have set the tone for what can be achieved but they have been in the league for a few years now and established themselves.

“That’s something we can look to emulate not next year but maybe further down the line.

“As a part-time club, managing Guiseley works well for me and maybe it will change further down the line.

“But we’ve made some friends this year, increased the fanbase and days like Saturday can only improve that.

“It could have gone either way at the weekend, so we’ll keep our feet on the ground, look to improve the squad in the summer and go again.”