DAISY Hill Lions Under-11s are looking to go from strength-to-strength next season after winning the Bolton Bury and District Football League Division F title.

Twelve months ago, the club had just been relegated from Division E and were struggling with confidence when Luke Parkinson and his best friend Stephen Bate took over the reins as their first managerial job.

They introduced a new formation for the nine-a-side game and finished the campaign with 15 wins and just five defeats to be crowned champions.

Parkinson said: "When we took over we implemented a strict attitude policy, so that the players not only improved as a footballer, but also as people.

"This has been greatly received, with one parent even commenting that there child's school has said they had seen a drastic improvement in their child.

"Winning the league is something the parents never thought they would see their child do, and I am constantly told that they have improved so much with us.

"So I suppose a large part of the success goes to the endless amount of hours myself and Ste have put in by planning training sessions and organizing trips to Manchester Futsal and the Football Museum.

"The final game we played was against Tika Taka, with us in first and them in second.

"Whoever won the game would be crowned champions.

"Thankfully we edge an eventful game 4-2, and we were recently awarded with the trophy at our end of season awards night.

"A big thanks also goes to Jeff Pilkington who is the chairman at Daisy Hill JFC, but who also helps to run the administration side of our team.

He's the man that organises the fixtures, training venues and everything else in between. He was a real unsung hero at the club.

"Our team will be looking to improve even more on last season, by playing football in the right way, with the right attitude and respect for the game. As long as our players go home thinking they have learnt something new, then that is perfect."