Holywell Town manager John Haseldin says the disappointment of relegation will fuel his side's bid for a swift return to Welsh football's second tier.

The Wellmen suffered heartache on the final day of the Cymru Alliance campaign when their survival bid was thwarted despite an upturn in form late in the season.

A 3-0 victory over Holyhead Hotspur proved to be in vain for the Flintshire club, whose four-year stay in the division ended after fellow strugglers Penrhyncoch conjured a late winner in a 3-2 victory over Conwy Borough to move clear of the bottom three.

Now faced with the prospect of Welsh National League football next term, Haseldin is determined to restore the Halkyn Road club back to its 'rightful place'.

He said: "Obviously the club is close to my heart and the result of this season hasn't changed my feelings about wanting to stay on.

"If anything, it has made me more determined to try and get the club back up.

"I know that won't be easy in a tough league, but if we keep the nucleus of players that we finished the season with, add a good pre-season and reach the standard of play we've seen in recent weeks I'm confident we can challenge for promotion.

"You don't keep a good club down for long and I know we'll come back stronger after a setback like this."

Haseldin, who returned as manager just four months after leaving the role last summer, believes Holywell never fully recovered from their sluggish start to the campaign.

Under former manager Gareth Sudlow, the club took just just eight points from their opening eight games and were languishing near the foot of the table from the outset.

Haseldin felt that inadequate fitness levels among the squad impacted badly on results, and acknowledges that arresting the club's slump in form 'took time'.

"Obviously the start the club had wasn't ideal and it took a lot of hard work in training and on the pitch to put things right again", he added.

"After the success we'd had as a club in previous years, it made what happened this season even tougher to take.

"This is a well-respected community football club with some brilliant supporters and a great grass roots set-up and we won't let it go derelict.

"Me staying on is not an ego thing or about money - I've not taken a penny out of the club this season - it's about getting us back to where we should be and bouncing back at the first attempt."