ALBION SPORTS' season came to a close on Thursday evening, their final result ending in a 5-0 defeat at Barton Town.

Thankfully for Rizwan Mohammed's side, Staveley Miners Welfare had requested to be moved down a division, with a five-year plan starting to clear over one million pounds worth of debt.

It meant Albion could be rest assured, with the Bradford side taking their place in the drop zone with the season concluded, but they will now remain at Step Five after Staveley's request was accepted by the FA yesterday afternoon.

Mohammed, who takes charge of proceedings at Albion- joined the Bradford side just before the turn of the new year, taking over the departed Ishy Hussain as manager.

Speaking to the T&A, the boss admitted a number of issues have held his team back from reaching their best level this season.

He said: "It's been a very stop-start season for us. When I took over in November we went on a great run, but the schedule just killed us after that. It was extremely difficult having to play once every three or four weeks because the rhythm just dies.

"It's hard to get momentum going and because the lads want to play football, they get frustrated and you could say slightly bored. It'd mean that a number of our players would go and play for their Sunday league sides just to keep active.

"I did encourage my players to try and stay fit and active, but it eventually backfired on us because we started to pick up injuries to several of our key players

"We did try and go into the market for a couple of players, even if it was just for a couple of games. Instead of trying to build towards something, we were constantly targetting a game at a time."

Mohammed added: "Despite that, I think there have been some big improvements since my arrival in November.

"The atmosphere, culture and chemistry have all improved. The players had spoke to me shortly after my arrival and said they hadn't felt that level of positivity within the changing room for a while.

"I also think that our relatively young squad will have learned a lot from this season. Being in a relegation battle can be mentally and physically draining, but our players had to go through it. By going through it they will now know what it means to show grit, determination and fight to get points in this league. So, it can only stand them in good stead."

Despite the campaign only coming to a close on Thursday evening, Mohammed admitted he has already started thinking about the next campaign.

He said: "I've had a thought and I know exactly what we need for next season in relation to additions. Experience will be key for us, while we will look to add a poacher- someone who can put the ball in the back of the net. We created lots of chances this season, but unfortunately our finishing let us down."