PADIHAM manager Graham Howarth is looking for his side to improve on their eighth-place finish from last season when the new campaign kicks off next month.

The Storks made an incredible debut in the North West Counties League last year after promotion from the West Lancs League in 2000.

The Arbories boss had said at the start of the season that he would be happy if they just stayed in the league.

But they did far better than that and now Howarth is looking for new talent to bolster his squad's chances of a second successful season.

"There are no new faces at the moment although there have been a couple of players who've said they would come down training and haven't done, although they could be away," said Howarth

"We have been back in training since the first Tuesday in July but that was the beginning of the Burnley holidays so some people have been on holiday.

"I am looking to bring two or three new players in to strengthen the squad."

After a tough finish to the last campaign -- when most teams had to play several games in a short space of time -- Howarth is hoping to add strength in depth.

"The idea is to build on last season," he said. "I think we played 13 games in 23 days at the end which ruined any chance of us finishing higher than we did. Our reserve team is full of young lads so we need to strengthen.

"At one point last season if we'd won all our games in hand we could have gone top but we knew that wasn't likely to happen because we were playing a lot of games all at once and we didn't have a lot of depth.

"But we are definitely hoping to finish even higher this season."

The Storks were due to start their pre-season campaign against East Lancs League side Cross Hills today.

Pre-season games: July 21 Cross Hills (h); Aug 2 Great Harwood (a); Aug 4 Ramsbottom (h); Aug 9 Burnley Under 19s (h); Aug 11 Rossendale United (h)