Striker Jack Hindle believes the fact that Barrow AFC have retained the core of their squad from last season gives them a great chance of reaching the play-offs in the coming campaign.

The Bluebirds' players will reconvening at Bolton University tomorrow for fitness tests (just to make sure they've been looking after themselves this summer) before pre-season training begins at their Hopwood Hall base next Monday.

Manager Ian Evatt has made no secret that he expects his team to be challenging near the top of the National League after a lack of goals prevented them from making a sustained play-off push last time around.

Hindle, who finished as top scorer in the last campaign with 12 goals, is one of the key players from it to have signed new contracts at Holker Street, along with the likes of Josh Granite, Joel Dixon and John Rooney, with midfielder Jason Taylor going into the second year of his deal.

Hindle said: "I'm just really happy that I am going to be staying and everything is hopefully going to go the right way for us next year because I believe it will.

"The core group are all staying and we've added four or five more, so it's not like a new group where we're having to start all over again.

"It's the same group and I think that group is good enough to have a really good go because I think there is no doubt that we're going to finish in the play-offs.

"It's just up to us, as a team, as to how high we can finish in that top seven because I know we're going to finish in that top seven.

"We know that because of the way we performed last year, especially at places like Eastleigh away, Wrexham away, and it's just about us becoming more ruthless and scoring more goals"