HAD you offered Trafford manager Tom Baker an eighth-place finish last summer he'd most likely have snapped your hand off.

Relegated last year, Trafford were in need of a facelift and the former Altrincham midfielder – seen as a surprise choice to succeed Graham Heathcote at Shawe View – has done just that, leading the club to a more-than creditable finish in the Evo-Stik First Division North.

"I look at the season as a success," said Baker, who was forced to call time on his own playing career early last year due to a knee injury.

"We’ve finished in eighth place in a really competitive league with some big clubs and big budgets.

"We always knew it was going to be tough, but my own personal aim was to have a push for the play-offs.

"However, the main thing was to stabilise the club after relegation last season.

"It would have been easy to be down and drop through the divisions.

"When you look at clubs like Hyde who have had three straight relegations you realise what could happen, but we’ve never really been in danger all season."

Baker, backed by the still-active Chris Shuker as his assistant, shipped out many of the Trafford squad last summer and once his new group got to know each other they chalked up some eye-catching results.

“When I took over I probably inherited three or four players,” Baker added. “Nine or 10 lads were deemed as probably not good enough to play this season so they moved on.

"It’s not been the easiest situation for me to come into as a first-time manager, we’ve basically undergone a complete overhaul.

“The club wasn’t in a good position so to finish eighth and to have a stable squad is really pleasing.

“Our consistency was an issue early on, as you’d expect from a new group of players but it clicked at the turn of the year and we went on a good run.

"Even when we had a tough run of games in February, when we played Burscough, Lancaster and Clitheroe in quick succession, we came out with three wins over three good teams.”

You suspect that with this rate of improvement there’s even more to come from Baker and his men next time around.