Chairman Mike Kearns insists St Neots Town intend to bounce back from their Southern League Premier Division heartache in the best possible way.

Saints suffered a controversial 1-0 Play-Off Final defeat at Truro City on Bank Holiday Monday to miss out on a third promotion in the space of five seasons.

David Batch’s side were beaten by a hotly-disputed penalty midway through the second half as they suffered just a second defeat since his late-December appointment.

But Kearns is adamant the painful setback will only serve to make them even more determined to succeed next season when they will again go in search of honours and a rise into Conference football.

Kearns said: “Losing in the way we did to such a controversial incident is tough to swallow.

“We are all disappointed in the circumstances, but we should not be upset after what we achieved in the second half of the season.

“We certainly can’t afford to be down in the dumps as we are only going to grow as a club.

“We are not yet the finished article and I am confident we can improve further next season.

“There is no reason why we can’t push for promotion as we have no-one to fear at this level.

“We have the nucleus of a very good team and we will add to it during the summer.

“There will definitely be a bit of a shake-up as always and some player movement.

“I’ve spoken at length to David since the Truro game and we have identified a number of potential targets who we will now pursue.

“David has already given us five months of excellent football and there will be many more months and years of that to come.”

Kearns has issued a public thank-you to the Saints supporters.

They were cheered on by more than 100 travelling fans at Truro – just as they had been in their semi-final success at Poole last Tuesday.

He added: “Our supporters are a true credit to the club. They turn out in great numbers and give the team brilliant backing.”