RETURNING Barrow Island coach Joe Elliot is shooting for the top at Rating Lane next season.

Elliot is back at Rating Lane as part of a three-man coaching line-up with Steve Clarke and Matt Parkinson.

The trio – who will be assisted in training by former Barrow Raiders player and coach Dean Marwood – have stepped up to take over from the departed Neil Shaw.

Elliot, who led Island in the Cumbria League in the 2014 season, believes he is taking charge of a team with great potential for success next year.

Alongside experienced players Clarke and Parkinson, he will aim to propel them to silverware in 2016 and end the domination of local rivals Walney Central over the South Cumbrian game.

“There’s a great bunch of boys coming through together,” Elliot said. “There’s a really good core for the next five or 10 years and they could do something good.

“I think anything less than challenging for the league next year would be a total disappointment.

“We want to win some silverware – whether it be the Cumbria Cup, the league or the Barton Townley. We’ve set our aims high for next year.”

He added: “When I first coached the team, the first half of the season we were finding our feet about how we wanted to play.

“The second half of the season, I could see the improvement with the lads we had. With what Neil and Dean have done, they have improved again.

“We won’t be teaching them to suck eggs – they all have good skill levels – we just want to create a bit more unity in the group.

“If we can add a few more numbers, I think that’s all we lacked last year. With a bigger squad, we probably would have challenged for the league.”

The rivalry with Cents will be to the fore once more next season.

Walney – themselves hunting for a new coach following Shaun Marrow’s decision to step down – have won the Cumbria League Top Four Play-off final for three years in succession and also have the Barton Townley Cup in their trophy cabinet.

Island, meanwhile, finished third in the league last season and lost to Cents in the play-offs. They last won the Barton Townley Cup in 2010.

Elliot pulled on the Island shirt at a time when it was they who were top dogs in the cross-Jubilee Bridge rivalry and he hopes he is able to help tip the balance back in the favour of the Rating Lane outfit.

“I played 10 years at first-team level and in that period we were never beaten by Walney in any game,” the joint-boss said. “The tide has turned and it’s a hard pill to swallow.

“I’m friends with the Walney lads, but in rugby terms I don’t want to see them doing better than us.

“The rivalry will be good this year and hopefully we will be able to knock them off their perch.”

Among the key men for Elliot, Clarke and Parkinson next season will be BARLA Great Britain international Perry Singleton – younger brother of Leeds Rhinos prop Brad – Luke Cresswell – who is on the radar of Barrow Raiders – and Jack Sutherland.

The returning boss sees them all as having big parts to play in the push for league and cup success, with other new faces also set to contribute.

Elliot said: “Perry has been a standout player for the last few seasons, but we’re not going to have him for the start of the season because he has a wrist injury he is having an operation on.

“But we’ve got Luke Cresswell, our full-back, who has just got better and better and he’s got to be one of the standout players in Cumbria.

“There are those two and the likes of Matt Parkinson and Richard Chatfield as well. Jack Sutherland last year was outstanding too.

“We want to build on those players and we have some others coming in as well. Matty Sayle is going to give us a full season this year, which will really bolster the pack.”

Island have a players’ meeting in the Rating Lane clubhouse on Monday, starting at 7pm. All players are asked to attend.