TIME is of the essence for Prestatyn Town manager John Lawless with a possible start date for the new season in the not-too-distant future.

It has been an eventful few months at the JD Cymru North champions, who were denied a place in the top-flight after failing to obtain their Tier 1 Domestic Licence from the Football Association of Wales despite finishing 16 points clear of Flint Town United.

The arrival of chairman Jamie Welsh has seen a host of people behind the scenes moving on, manager Neil Gibson resigning from his post and the players who loyally follow their boss also moving on to pastures new.

Lawless has the unenviable task of putting together a completely revamped squad capable of achieving promotion, through no real fault of his own. The new boss is going into the situation with his eyes wide open and there is also the added motivation of having so many doubters within large sections of the Prestatyn fanbase.

The FAW are now applying for Tier 2 clubs to be given ‘elite athlete’ status by Sport Wales with a view to getting their seasons underway. Given the process involved, it is safe to assume this happens by mid-January if everything goes according to plan.

This gives Lawless little time not only to sign players in the window, but also to implement his style of play of whatever individuals are brought in. The manager is undoubtedly already working on this in readiness for a potential start date confirmation and he’s got plenty of useful contacts with the game through the North West, Cheshire and at clubs in Wales he represented such as Aberstwyth Town, Colwyn Bay and The New Saints.

It won’t be the same, but what club ever is when someone like Gibson decides to move on?

Things were uncertain when he left the first time. Gareth Wilson, Martin Jones, Leon Field and Ryan Turner came in and in the case of the latter duo, had to form a completely new group of players, but the difference between this duo and Lawless is the fans were behind them from the outset.

What’s gone on off the pitch has nothing to do with Lawless and his ambitions on it. He was a quality player during his time in the game and has been chomping at the bit to get a managerial opportunity such as this.

The circumstances aren’t great and what the boss does over the next few weeks could goa long way to determining just what sort of things we can expect from the Seasiders’ this season.