The departures of Danny Shaw and Owen Wheeler were confirmed this week, with Shaw choosing to return to Marine while Wheeler has moved on after making 58 appearances across two spells with the club.

Towey holds no grudges against either player, and remains upbeat in his and Steve Akrigg's pursuit of reinforcements.

"Owen felt he needed a new challenge," Towey said.

"By his own admission, his performances for most of the season have been well below the standard both he and the club have become accustomed to.

"He's a fantastic goalkeeper and I'm sure he'll have no issues finding a new club and rediscovering his form of previous seasons.

"Danny was approached by his former club Marine and being a Crosby lad, it was an offer he couldn't refuse on his door-step.

"The fact that this club is competing with the likes of Marine shows how far we've come in such a short space of time. It wasn't too long ago they were one of the best Non-League sides outside of the Conference.

"The board have been great in continuing to back the first team financially and we are now in the market to add to the squad and make several acquisitions in the coming weeks."

Club captain Mike Burke returned to the starting line-up in Saturday's goalless draw with Trafford, playing the full 90 minutes at the Halton Stadium.

Towey is pleased to see his skipper fit again, and underlined how influential the central defender is in the dressing room.

"Having Burkey back is a massive boost," Towey added.

"People might think he's at the back end of his career but the effect he has on others when he's involved is as good as it gets, and he'll be impossible to replace when he does finish his career."

Towey and Akrigg have also moved to appoint Craig Davies as first team coach.

Davies is the current Widnes Academy head coach, and Towey believes it makes sense to involve him in the first team coaching staff to strengthen the link between his side and the academy setup.

He said: "Craig is an excellent coach.

"His methods and experience will add massively to our backroom staff.

"It makes sense to have Craig heavily involved with the first team. His work with the academy this season has led to several of the lads being on the verge of first team involvement."