Glen Southam has put his neck on the line and promised Sutton United fans an exciting season next time round.

The United skipper admitted he is already erasing the disappointment of last term from his memory – a season that ended in a 2-1 defeat to Maidenhead at the Lane on Saturday.

And he reckons there are plenty of positives to look forward to, not least of all a new look stadium.

Work on United’s 3G pitch begins on May 18, and should be completed by the time the players return for training on July 7.

He said: “Change is always good, when we come back you’ll see a new place.

“We’ll have a new pitch, it’ll look like a new stadium – hopefully there will be more people at the game, they’ve worked very hard on that behind the scenes.

“It will be like a new club, but with old and great traditions – sometimes to move forward you need to make changes, and this will definitely benefit us.”

Having enjoyed success at Eastleigh and Dagenham & Redbridge, Southam is in no doubt that last season was his hardest in his career.

When he arrived at the Lane in September, the talk was about the play-offs, and now he is hurting.

“There is no beating about the bush, it has been a very disappointing season and I speak for the whole squad when I say we have massively under-achieved.

“It’s been one of the hardest seasons I’ve known.

“With our reputation and players, we were good enough to get into the play-offs, but for whatever reason, we did not do it and we’re hurting.”

He added: “We needed some stability in the side, but injuries, suspensions and bad luck have worked against us.

“Of all the successful teams I have been in eight or nine players have played 30-odd games, it happened at Eastleigh, it happened at Daggers.

“If we’re going to be successful, we need to keep the same squad, because they are good enough for this league and the one above, and add a bit of quality over the summer.

“I will put my neck on the line and say it will be a very exciting season for us next year.”