The club may have finished without silverware for the first time since they came into the Pennine League, but always knew they were in for a tough campaign after losing several key members of the first team at the end of last season.

In the circumstances it was a tough job for Roche to take on, but the former Drig junior and senior player and semi-professional with Dewsbury has impressed and along the way has successfully introduced a number of teenagers into the first team squad.

"Simon has had a good grounding at Drig at all levels and reaching the Presidents Cup final was thoroughly deserved and reflects the excellent job he has done with the squad during this campaign," said Mr Hillier.

"We did not get the rub of the green in the final, but that is sport. Some you win etc.

"We have been through a transition period this season, losing Nathan Hallas, the Penningtons and Paul Hustler who had to retire with a shoulder injury. Adam Newton, Chris Cowling and Gareth Murrell have not been available some weeks due to work commitments, but the youngsters who have taken over have been exceptional in the second half of the season.

"Unfortunately we did not really get going until November time and we lost a couple of key games early in the season which left us behind the leading pack. I have always said that any Premier Division side will beat you if you do not perform well.

"We have still had a good season, however, and we have great hopes for the likes of Ryan Burton, Michael Sanderson, Ben Kerr, Tom Moorby, Oliver Sharpe, Andy Kilbride, Liam Coughlan and a few others who are still in their teens and will take Drig, together with the established players, to another dimension in the next few years. We can all look forward to exciting times on the Battlefields in seasons to come.

"Simon Roche has also done a brilliant job in his first season as first team coach and if we can recruit a couple of 'nasty' forwards during the summer then we can be at the top for the foreseeable future."

There was some success for Drighlington with the A team clinching promotion to Division Four of the Pennine League.

"We must congratulate the lads who have played and enjoyed A team football on their promotion," said Mr Hillier.

"They came second behind West Leeds to gain the automatic spot and when you consider they lost their first two matches with massive scores then this is a tremendous achievement for the club and for the players who are all ready to step into the first team at a moment's notice and will never let anyone down when they play.

"The younger sides are all well established and are doing very well in their respective age groups and the future for the club looks very exciting as there will be a constant flow of talent coming through for quite a few years to come."