Lancaster City's change of direction takes in the Isle of Man

The Dolly Blues will join three fellow non-league clubs at the island's Summer Festival of Football from July 19-21.

It forms part of what manager Chris Willcock described as “an exciting pre-season” designed to boost a bid for the Northern Premier League play-offs in 2024/25.

Lancaster's games on the Isle of Man will be against Radcliffe on Saturday 20 (2pm) and Chester the following day (11am).

Radcliffe did the double over the Dolly Blues en route to the NPL title, while Chester will be among their opponents in National League North next season.

The fourth team at the festival are host club Isle of Man FC, who play in the North West Counties League and won't face Lancaster at the event. Their matches will open and close the festival, against Chester on Friday 19 (7pm) and Radcliffe on Sunday 21 (3pm).

Speaking after the final game of last season, Willcock told the club's media team about the intended change of approach over the summer.

He said: “The club normally shows medium to long-term ambitions regarding taking us to the next level in every aspect and that will take a lot of hard work.

“There are some exciting plans to take the club in a different direction and that will be put out to everyone associated with the club going forwards.

“We'll go into next season differently in terms of how we prepare the team on a weekly basis and hopefully we can bridge the gap. l'd love to be in the play-offs next season, that's my aim.”

Tickets covering all four games on the Isle of Man are available at a discount price until the end of this month. Steam Packet Holidays, the island’s only ferry provider, are offering travel and ticket packages, with the option to book accommodation. Find out more at the club’s website: https://www.pitchero.com/clubs/lancastercity/news/