'We are still a strong squad despite departures'

David Hopkin has a rebuilding job on his hands after a succession of players moved on from the club.

But Salkeld says that those still on the books from last term will give him the foundation of a settled side.

He believes that he and fellow young guns Lewis Strapp, Reece Lyon and Kalvin Orsi can help fire the team on to a promotion push.

Salkeld told the Tele: “We’ve still got a good set of lads signed and we’re all mostly all young, which could work to our advantage.

“The foundations are there for us to kick on from last year.

"We have boys who know what the club is about and what it's like to play under the manager, so I think that can only mean good things for us.

“If we can get a couple of the other lads from last year signed on and maybe add some experience to that, we can do well.

"The squad gelled really well in the second half of the season - you could see that from the way that we played.

“Hopefully that core means we can start the season flying.

“Anything can happen in football, there’s no reason we can't be in the promotion play-offs."

Salkeld has made the most of lockdown to come back to pre-season in better shape than ever as he looks to put his injury woes from last season behind him.

The 21-year-old tore his thigh in training in mid-January and was due to make his competitive return just when the season ended early.

He told the Telegraph: “I’ve been out in my local park most days kicking a ball around because I miss playing so much, nothing compares to the real thing.

“I’ve really focused on bettering myself over the lockdown.

"I have been strengthening my thigh back up with more endurance training.

“I’ve also been running longer distances with a weight to build a resistance, so that I can keep up with the physical demands of the league.

“It’s quite physical and I need to make sure that I can deal with that this season, after it took me a while to adjust last year.”