THE season may have fizzled out, but Cinderford' s director of rugby Andy Deacon says he is hugely proud of his players for turning around the club's fortunes.
The Foresters were widely tipped to be relegated at Christmas after an indifferent start to the season, but they produced a hot streak of form to stay up with ease. Deacon said: "It was a bizarre end to the season in that we did not fulfil the last two fixtures. We could have finished higher, but we have to look after the players. We had a few injuries and at least six guys are in the county set-up."
Deacon says he wants to reflect and rest before starting the job of planning all over again.
"We will have a good break because we won't start pre-season training until June 28.
"I expect a few players to go but I think the majority will stay. I am talking to a few people but we know the league won't be any easier with the likes of Fylde and Ealing coming in.
"Having said that, I thought we competed with the likes of London Scottish and Barking this year. We must not worry too much about other sides, we have to concentrate on ourselves."
Signing a fly-half or two will be one of Deacon's priorities and Mike Wilcox looks set to return on a year's loan from Bristol.
Deacon said: "There were many plusses this year.
"People like Luke Allen, Chris Bundy, Sam Wilkes, Luke Carter, Nev Codlin and Sam Brown really took their chances. It was a team effort and everyone involved had their moments."