WITH his first full season in charge of Spennymoor Town on the horizon, Tommy Miller is targeting promotion from the National League North.

The former Sunderland and Hartlepool United midfielder has taken the reigns at the Brewery Field on a permanent basis after being appointed as manager in April.

Miller's side returned to pre-season recently and played out a 2-2 draw with League One Sunderland on home soil where over 1,012 spectators were at the game and he admits he's loving life in the hotseat trying to build a promotion winning side.

“It’s been busy, hectic but enjoyable as well.

"It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and I’m delighted to be given the opportunity.

"It’s a fantastic club, it’s going in the right direction. Behind the scenes, there are some good people who work here. "We’ve got a fantastic chairman and I’m getting the support that I need and that I’m after and hopefully we can be going in the right direction on the field as well as off it.

“We want to be up there with a chance. This club is always striving for better every year and we want to be in the mix.

“It’s a very competitive league. I think you’ve got six full-time teams in.

"I’m not saying that guarantees you success but we certainly want to be in the mix and I’m confident we can be come the season starting."

Miller has stepped up from his role as assistant manager to take the reigns at the Brewery Field after Jason Ainsley announced he was stepping down from the role last year. Ainsley has since taken on an ambassador role at the club.

The 42-year-old has had to take on new responsibilities as part of being the manager and he admits he's got his eye on a number of players before the season starts.

“You’re always looking. I am looking at trying to get maybe another four in through the door.

“I’m speaking to lads all the time, I’m looking at videos of certain individuals to see if they are going to be the right fit. Speaking to agents as well, there’s a quite a lot of them at this level surprisingly enough.

“I’m confident we can get maybe one or two in the next week or two but as I say I’m probably looking for four new players."