Warrington Town recruitment update as Beesley chases fresh faces

MARK Beesley insists he remains relaxed about Warrington Town’s summer recruitment business as the new National League North season gets closer.

The players reported back for pre-season training this week and while the vast majority of the squad that secured a top-half finish last season remain with the club, there are a few key differences.

Long-serving midfielder Sean Williams is confirmed to have left, while the futures of top goalscorer Isaac Buckley-Ricketts and Andre Wisdom are still up in the air, with contract offers still on the table for the pair who have received interest from clubs further up and lower down the pyramid.

National League side FC Halifax Town are believed to be the latest club to have registered an interest in Buckley-Ricketts, who is also said to be subject to a lucrative offer from Northern Premier League powerhouses Macclesfield, while EFL clubs Chesterfield and Salford City are understood to be weighing up moves for ex-Liverpool defender Wisdom.

It remains unclear whether last season's leading goalscorer Isaac Buckley-Ricketts will remain with the club (Image: Sean Walsh)

Skipper Josh Amis is also set to miss the start of the season having undergone shoulder surgery, so the need for fresh faces is pressing.

However, Beesley insisted he is happy to bide his time in search of the right players to add to his squad.

“I won’t sit here and say we haven’t missed out on players this summer because we have but that happens at every level,” the Town boss told the Guardian.

“You try to sign players and for whatever reason, they don’t sign and you just have to move on.

“We’ve got things bubbling away under the surface that we’re trying to do, but these things take time.

“Good players don’t always become available but when they do, they have to be the right kind of character to fit into all aspects of how we do things, the wage structure and the way we work as a club.

“First and foremost, they have to be good lads. You get offered players all the time but sometimes, they just don’t fit.

“We’ll keep working – we’ve been working on it since before the end of last season and we’ll continue to do that

“There’s still a whole pre-season to bring one or two players in to help the group and keep us pushing forward.”

The one piece of business Town have managed to complete is the return of Bohan Dixon, with the midfielder back at Cantilever Park having briefly left the club to join Macclesfield towards the end of last season.

And Beesley believes the veteran will be “a massive asset” to the team during the new campaign.

Bohan Dixon's return is the only new signing Town have confirmed to date (Image: Sean Walsh)

“Bohan’s a big influence on and off the pitch. He’s a leader in his own right and he’s an excellent player,” he said.

“By his own standards, he was probably up and down last year but he left on good terms with everyone’s good wishes.

“He left the door open and when the opportunity came for us to bring him back, he was desperate to come back.

“He feels like it’s his club and he’s been one of our mainstays since we’ve been in charge.

“A motivated Bohan Dixon is a massive asset to us.”

In total, 11 of last season’s squad have committed to remaining with Yellows for the coming season, with numbers boosted by several young players from the club’s age-group sides during pre-season.

Beesley says those youngsters will be given their chance in friendly matches, with eight to be played starting with the trip to Nantwich Town on Tuesday, July 9.

“We’ve always fostered a great togetherness within the club. That’s part of what we are and that must continue,” he said.

“We’ve worked really hard to build something and let’s have it right, a lot of those players excelled in the National League North last season so they deserve to be where they are.

“We’ll try and progress and the plan is to try and improve every year.

“We’re trying to improve the squad and if we can, that’s great but if we can’t, we’ll work on what we’ve got.

“We’ve got a few good young lads who will get opportunities, and we’ll make sure we’re working hard and we’re ready for August 10th.”