FC CLACTON boss David Coyle is ready to start shaping his squad for next season.

The Seasiders boss was holding fire in terms of speaking to his existing squad until their fate was known in terms of relegation.

Until recently, the club could have dropped down into Thurlow Nunn League division one, along with bottom two Diss and Ely.

Instead, they beat Kirkley & Pakefield 1-0 the Saturday before last and stayed up at the expense of Wivenhoe Town.

Now the work starts in terms of ensuring his side are not involved in another relegation scrap next year.

“I can start talking to people now, because we know what division we’re going to be in next season,” said Coyle, whose side finished their premier division campaign with a 1-1 draw at Walsham-le-Willows on Saturday.

“There was no point in me having those conversations before, because we might have been in division one.

“Now we know we’re still the top team in the area and, along with Stanway, the top team within 20 miles.

“That opens up some opportunities for us to start looking at players for next year – players that might not have been available to us if we’d gone down.

“Then, on the other hand, I’ve just seen my team win five and draw two out of eight.

“That makes me wonder ‘do I need to change anything?’ Why can’t we start like that next year?

“We’ve proved it’s possible and while there might be some better players out there, there might not be many that make the team better.

“We’ve got a good side at the moment – a team of players that want to be together, want to work hard and want to listen to what I say.”

Coyle has sung the praises of all his players.

He says skipper Aaron Condon “led by example” during the run-in and also saluted his brother, Kevin, who scored crucial goals against the likes of Diss and Wivenhoe.

“Kev has a reputation as being someone who can be moody, but he’s been unbelievable for us in the last few weeks,” said the Clacton boss.

“He’s won games for us single-handedly. He’s also been there at every training session and worked his socks off. He’s really grown up.”

Coyle also has high hopes for brothers Tyler and Calum Rogers, who joined the Seasiders from Wivenhoe.

Injuries stopped them being involved until the very end of the season but Calum featured against Kirkley.

Tyler was an unused substitute.

“Calum was very good, playing out of position at right-back,” said Coyle.

“He was a big reason why we kept another clean sheet and he’s going to be a more than handy acquisition for us, if we can keep him on board.”