ROSS Speight says Middlewich Town can be more optimistic about the future after concluding the campaign with three successive wins.

The Witches followed a 2-0 win at Mersey Valley on Thursday by edging Halebank by the odd goal in seven at Seddon Street last Saturday.

It secures for them a top-half finish in Cheshire League One.

“That’s still way off our target,” said the co-manager, referring to a 30-point distance between his side and promoted Warrington reserves in second spot.

“However we’re encouraged by how we’ve done since November, after a poor start, and I’m confident we can keep hold of the players we need.

“Our plan now is to add some new faces before next season, when we should be challenging to go up.

“There is certainly potential here, and we have the right mix of youth and experience – it’s time we brought good times back to the club."

Middlewich Town 4-3 Halebank

MIDDLEWICH recovered from the early blow of conceding a goal to beat Halebank in their final fixture of the season.

They trailed inside quarter of an hour, only for in-form Michael Whitehead – named afterwards as the managers’ player of the year – to reply with a brace before the break.

Skipper Sam O’Sullivan matched that feat after the interval, applying the finishing touch to a fine team move to make it 4-1.

His teammates survived a scare when the visitors scored twice in the closing stages.

“It’s great to sign off with a run of positive results to put behind us the disappointment of losing in a cup final,” said Speight.