Bamber Bridge players deserve credit after summer upheaval – boss Jamie Milligan

The 2023/24 campaign is perhaps not what Milligan or Brig’s supporters envisaged when they brought the curtain down on last season.

Back then, Milligan’s men came within a whisker of promotion, losing narrowly in the play-off final 1-0 to Warrington Town.

Unfortunately, the vultures were circling over Irongate in the summer, picking off many of Milligan’s key players.

The current team is almost unrecognisable from the previous season, making any hopes of emulating their fourth-place finish last year difficult.

Indeed, at one point, Brig were just hovering above the drop zone but a decent run over Christmas has lifted them away from trouble.

However, last weekend’s 2-0 loss at Guiseley further illustrated how difficult it is to rebuild a side and expect success straight away.

But Milligan has not given up hope that his men can make a late charge for the top-five positions.

"I think if you look from last season, there’s only captain Macauley Wilson and Chris Churchman left from that squad,” said Milligan, whose men host Marine this weekend.

"The rest have gone. So when you think about that, it’s been a complete rebuild. I know we had Harry Scarborough on loan for a little bit last season and he’s on loan again from Chorley this season. I think we have done really well.”