Chairman Len Smith insists Eastbourne Borough will not rest on their laurels after the curtain came down on a dream debut season in Blue Square premier.

A disappointing home defeat at the hands of Barrow was hardly a fitting end to a campaign which saw Borough make a mockery of their tag as favourites for relegation.

They finished a massive 16 points above the drop zone in 13th place and the challenge will now be to repeat such a remarkable feat next season.

Smith knows that will not be easy with the likes of Luton and Chester dropping down from League Two and AFC Wimbledon promoted from Blue Square south.

But he has vowed to make significant funds available for boss Garry Wilson to build on this year’s achievement and says the club may still opt for a mixture of full and part-time players next season.

He said: “It was a disappointing end but nothing can take away from the fact it has been a great season.

“Now we have got to start building from next season.

“They say the second season is always harder but at the start of this season they said the teams that come up go straight back down so we have proved that wrong.

“There are some really strong teams coming into the league so it is going to be difficult but it is up to us to strengthen in the summer.

“Our aim is to establish ourselves as a Conference premier club and to do that we need to invest in the playing squad.

“We are in a good position financially so there will be money available to spend in the summer if the right players become available.

“There is still a chance we might go for a mixture of full-time and part-time players but it is down to Garry and Nick (Greenwood, assistant manager) really and the way they want to do things.

“It all depends on the players they want to sign. If some of them are full-time then that will dictate how we run things.

“The one thing you can be certain of is that we won’t rest on our laurels. The reason this club has been so successful is that we always strive to improve.”

A goalscorer must be top of Wilson’s shopping list after missed opportunities ended up costing them yet again on Saturday.

Borough created the best opportunities in a dreadful game but not for the first time this season their failure to take them was punished.

Jay Lovett should have given the home side the lead six minutes before half-time after good work by Allan Tait but somehow headed wide when it looked easier to score.

Tait then spurned an even better chance early in the second half following a rare good move on a pitch not conducive to passing football.

Paul Armstrong sent Tait through one on one with the keeper but his shot lacked conviction and Alan Martin, who had replaced Deasy at half-time, was able to block.

It proved pivotal as three minutes later Barrow were ahead thanks to a sensational strike from Mark Boyd. The ball fell to him 30 yards from goal and he arrowed it into the top corner with a lazy swing of his boot.

Barrow’s second was more in keeping with the game.

Andrew Bond shot straight at Lee Hook, the ball looped up off Hook’s knees and evaded Darren Baker’s clumsy attempt to head it off the line.

Jack Jeffery almost grabbed a late consolation when he did brilliantly to turn the hulking Steve McNulty only to fire over and a bad day was completed when Neil Jenkins was stretchered off with a hamstring injury which could rule him out of the Senior Cup final next Monday.

Wilson said: “It would have been nice to finish on a positive note but I am not going to let anybody take anything away from us.

“Our target at the start of the season was to stay up and we have done that comfortably which is a fantastic achievement for the club.”

Eastbourne: Hook, Austin, Baker, Pullan, Jenkins, Lovett, Brown, Armstrong, M Crabb (Wormull, 69), Tait (Atkin, 69), N Crabb (Jeffery, 76). Subs not used: Smart, Harding.

Booked: None.

Barrow: Deasy (Martin, 45), Woodyatt, McNulty, Bond, Boyd, Walker, Hunt (Rogan, 45), Jelleyman, Logan, McGill, Spender (Henney, 45). Subs not used: Kerr, Brown.

Booked: None.