11:04am Wednesday 7th May 2008
By Paul Wreyford
Barnet manager Paul Fairclough believes his young guns will come back even stronger next season.
The Bees secured a top-half finish in League Two, and Fairclough reckons his side could be in the play-offs this time next year.
He said: "Hopefully I'll be able to keep most of the players together. They will have learned so much this season. For many, this was their first year in the Football League. They will be better for it next season."
With higher-league clubs interested in the likes of Jason Puncheon, Albert Adomah and Joe Devera, Fairclough could again lose some of his top players.
But that is something he has had to contend with every summer. One year ago, he lost the likes of Nicky Bailey and Simon King, both of whom have won end-of-season awards for their new clubs, Southend United and Gillingham respectively.
Many predicted a season of struggle for the Bees, but his much-changed squad did even better than the one in the previous year, lifting Barnet to their highest ever finish since returning to the Football League three seasons ago.
Fairclough does not expect wholesale changes this time, but said he was looking to bring in three or four new faces.
However, that number might depend on how many of the current squad move on to pastures new.
Winger Puncheon has put himself back in the frame for a move to a top side.
Fairclough said clubs would have been alerted to the fact he finished the campaign back to his best.
He said: "Jason has turned his season around. He carried the team for the first ten games and we then carried him when he suffered a drop in form. But he's picked himself up, dusted himself down and finished the season in real style."
While he will be keen to hang on to the likes of Puncheon, Adomah and Devera, other players will be shown the door.
Striker Giuliano Grazioli and defender Sagi Burton were this week the first two players to be released.
Grazioli, 33, a crowd favourite, almost single-handedly fired Barnet into the Football League, his 29 goals earning him the Conference player of the year award during the championship-winning season.
However, he has scored just ten goals in the past three campaigns.
Burton, who only joined in the summer, made 32 appearances, scoring one goal.
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.times-series.co.uk