GRIMSBY Town's 2013/14 Conference promotion push will be built around a squad of just 18 players.
However, joint boss Rob Scott insists: "It will be a better squad in terms of quality."
As revealed in the Telegraph, the Mariners have to tighten their belts ahead of their fourth shot at a Football League return.
And those cuts to the playing budget have already had an impact, with eight players released earlier this month.
Just one of those has been replaced so far with the return of winger Scott Neilson on a one-year deal.
With only around five places remaining to fill in next season's line-up, Scott and co-manager Paul Hurst are having to prioritise where to bring in reinforcements.
"Another wide man might have to be on the back burner because it's no secret that we're going to have to go with a smaller squad next year," Scott explained.
"That is the case for a lot of clubs – Andy Morrell, the manager at Wrexham, has said the same.
"We're going to have a tighter squad who are all capable of playing in the first team and if things happen during the course of the season and we need extra bodies, that's what we're going to have to do.
"People questioned some of our player rotation last year but that was a necessity with injuries and the amount of games we had.
"People will probably be moaning next year, saying 'why don't you change the team around?!'
"But that won't be a possibility because we'll be looking at smaller numbers.
"We're aiming at probably running with 18 players – that's a really small squad, especially given the amount of games we have to play at this level and how often they come.
"But we've got a good nucleus to the team and, although it will be a smaller squad, it will be a better squad in terms of quality."
