SLOUGH Town FC joint-boss Jon Underwood is pleased to have kept the club in the Southern Premier Division this season.

The Rebels rounded-off the year with a 3-1 defeat away at Dorchester Town on Saturday, which ensured they would end the season in 16th position.

Underwood admits that Slough lacked experience at times, though he is keen to improve the team with the return of several key senior players.

Speaking to The Observer, he said: “When you go up the first aim is to stay in the division and we have achieved that.

“We were over-ambitious in thinking what we could’ve done this year and there is a sense of relief now that it’s over.

“We were in striking distance of the play-offs, but to be honest our season has ended up going in the other direction.

“The second half of the season has been a disappointment, but we have kept our place in the Southern Premier Division.

“We were hoping to finish midway but lost our momentum and confidence, so 16th place is a disappointment.

“But we produced some brilliant performances and had some fantastic results.

“We scored a decent number of goals and regularly throughout the season, but the disappointment is our goals against column.” Underwood continued: “Adam Foulser and Warren Harris have missed the whole year, and we lost Jamie McClurg and Adrian Sear around Christmas.

“They’re experienced players who are important to us, and will work hard over the summer to get fully fit and firing again.

“It will be like having four new signings and we will probably add another four, but not much more than that.

“We lacked leadership and senior players, and at times we looked a bit inexperienced at this level, particularly defensively.

“The lads did their very best but we haven’t quite solved that yet and it’s our number one priority over the summer.

“We’ve watched the squad very closely in recent months and there will be a few players that fall by the way-side, which happens at every club.

“But we know where we need to change and have a shortlist of potential signings that we want to speak with.” Looking ahead to next season, Underwood said: “Our aim will be to improve on this year but it will be a tough division.

“Farnborough will come down from the Conference, and Merthyr Town and Kettering have both been promoted. They are clubs with very good resources in terms of what they’re able to bring in.

“When we’re in our new ground we will have more of an opportunity to reach the play-offs. We’re limited in terms of resources until then.

“The league will be very strong next year so there’s no point in saying our aim is the play-offs, but we do want to improve.” **PICK up a copy of The Observer, out now, for all the latest sports news and action including pictures from Dorchester versus Slough** **FOLLOW The Observer on Twitter at @Observer_sports**