GARETH Davies won’t say the ‘P’ word placed on the tip of his tongue just yet, after guiding Shrivenham to a fifth-placed finish in the Hellenic League Premier Division this season.

Shrivenham appeared set for a relegation fight at the start of the campaign after making a disastrous opening.

But wins towards the back end of autumn stemmed into winter and spring – allowing Davies’ troops to end the campaign only 12 points shy of division winners Wantage.

The Shrivvy boss hopes to add between two and four fresh faces to his squad over the summer, while keeping the core of his team in place with a view to another strong campaign in 2019-20.

Davies said: “We’ll have a couple of weeks off and enjoy the rest.

“I do think we’ll need between two and four new faces. I’d like to think if we can keep the nucleus of faces that we currently have, while adding a few faces, then who knows what can happen.

“I won’t say it, but who knows.

“It’s silly season at the moment, other teams will be trying to get players on board already.

“For me, my players just need some time off.”

Shrivenham’s change in fortune throughout the season can largely be pinned on the squad’s adaptation to playing football in non-league’s fifth tier.

Few changes were made by Davies since the club’s first competitive game in August, and the boss paid tribute to his squad for adapting to the league in a positive manner since their poor start to the season ended.

He added: “In October, we were one of the favourites to go down – and we’ve ended the season fifth.

“That’s a massive achievement for a club like Shrivenham. The team has been outstanding this season.

“The difference from where we were in October to where we finished is remarkable.

“It’s the same team, but we’ve worked out how to play at this level of football.”