WARRINGTON Rylands currently have no plans to sign a replacement for departed striker Elliott Nevitt.

The big frontman helped Blues to the FA Vase Final before shooting to wider prominence by scoring a hat-trick in the Wembley win over Binfield.

As a result, he has earned the chance in professional football, with League Two side Tranmere Rovers snapping him up.

Elliott Nevitt lifts the FA Vase after his hat-trick at Wembley. Picture by Mark Percy

Elliott Nevitt lifts the FA Vase after his hat-trick at Wembley. Picture by Mark Percy

Nevitt’s departure appears to leave a hole in the Rylands squad as they prepare for their first ever Northern Premier League season.

However, manager Dave McNabb insists he is happy with the attacking options currently at his disposal.

In general, the Blues boss did not rule out further recruitment but insists he would be delighted if the squad remained as it was for their opening West Division clash with Leek Town on August 14.

“At the moment, we’re happy,” he said when asked about a potential replacement for Nevitt.

“Our goalscoring in pre-season hasn’t been where we’d like it to be but part of that is down to the opposition we’ve played.

“We’ve seen some really good signs working with the lads we’ve got so at the moment, we’re happy.

“We’re really, really happy with the squad but you always have to keep one eye open in terms of what’s available.

“Generally speaking, there’s lots of teams who haven’t started to release players yet because of the pandemic, but if we go into the season with this squad, we’ll be made up.

“Obviously, if the right player becomes available though we will have a look.”

Blues’ final pre-season friendly takes place on Saturday when they welcome National League North side AFC Fylde to Gorsey Lane.

Their programme has included quickly arranged friendlies against under 23s teams from Everton and Liverpool at the training bases of the Premier League sides.

Warrington Rylands manager Dave McNabb. Picture by Mike Boden

Warrington Rylands manager Dave McNabb. Picture by Mike Boden

McNabb says facing some of the country’s most talented young players has taught him plenty about his side.

“They were really good in terms of us looking at areas we needed to work on out of possession,” he said.

“In both games, the opposition had the majority of the ball and they highlighted the mistakes we were making.

“At our level, you don’t get punished as much as we did against those teams. It gave us some topics to focus on in training.

“We planned pre-season in detail after going on our break but as always happens, things change.

“The Everton and Liverpool games for example weren’t planned, but we adapted to it and we’re really happy with where the squad is.

“We’ve played some really tough games but overall, things look quite good."