AFC TOTTON have begun the process of talking to existing players about next season.

With the Stags comfortably placed mid-table in the Evo-Stik Southern One South & West and a strong squad now assembled, manager Steve Hollick plans to get most of the groundwork done for the next campaign before this one is over.

By Hollick's own admission, 2015/16 has not gone as well as planned.

But recent results – the Stags have won six and drawn two of their last nine league matches – suggest they have now got the balance right.

“We’re trying to keep everyone together as much as we can, although we do have to be careful with the budget,” he said.

“Hopefully we should only be looking for a couple of additions in the summer because I feel we’re in a really good place now.

“The squad is well balanced with players like Ian Oliver and Liam Hibberd able to play in a number of positions.

“Liam’s only 22 and lads like Steve Mowthorpe and Dylan Knight are also around that age – even Gos (Mike Gosney), with all his experience, is not particularly old.

“Young Mitch Hunt came in against Bashley last week, aged 17, and looked very much a first-team player.

“We’ve got the link-up with Matt Le Tissier Natural Coaching sorted and, with me going into my second year of management, I feel we've got a nice mix now of youth and experience. There are no egos and the lads have blended well. We won’t be going into pre-season wondering who's going to turn up.”

Hollick, whose side sit 12th heading into Saturday's mid-table battle with Gloucestershire outfit Slimbridge at the Testwood Stadium, added: “We let ourselves down at the start of this season which put the kybosh on it.

“It’s been a big learning curve for all of us and we’ve made mistakes along the way. But if we can eradicate those errors and put things right for next season, we’ve got a lot to look forward to.”

Striker Mark Gamble has recovered from a flu bug, so Totton should be at full strength for the weekend.