No more Mr nice guys, insists McIntosh

Speaking on the eve of the 2013-14 campaign, McIntosh hopes that the new arrivals can help turn draws into victories.

Last season Buxton drew 13 times in the league (the second highest amount) and the manager hopes his summer dealings will result in more three point hauls this year.

The off-season saw five players, all with Football League experience, sign on at the Silverlands.

Andy Warrington, Tim Ryan, Derek Niven, Leon Osborne and Craig King all arrived and McIntosh believes the squad is now well-equipped heading into the newly-expanded Evo-Stik Premier Division.

He said: “I think last year we were possibly too ‘nice’ at times.

“I think that’s why we probably didn’t win as many games as we should have.

“This year I’ve gone for more experience throughout the team and you can see that with the likes of Andy, Tim and Derek.”

“Those players have a lot of self-pride in the sense that they don’t see it as dropping down to this level.

“They’re model pro’s. Watching them train you can see it’s inbred in them and that rubs off on the other lads.”

Ahead of the opening clash against Witton today, McIntosh says the outlook in non-league is hard to predict - meaning scouting teams can be difficult.

He added: “There’s so many changes in non-league.

“Sometimes you can have ten new players that you need to integrate into the club.”

Witton finished fourth last season but were knocked out of the play-offs by FC United.