Jon McCarthy believes the Blues have a huge advantage in the summer transfer scramble: Steve Burr's encyclopaedic knowledge of non-league football.
McCarthy, 43, has agreed to continue in his coaching role next season and is in regular contact with the manager - currently touring Central Europe with the England C squad - about potential signings.
Sean McConville made the move from Stalybridge Celtic as the post-relegation rebuild begins but the winger is the only new arrival to date.
Despite the slow start, McCarthy insists there will be plenty for Blues fans to get excited about in the weeks to come and believes the squad will better reflect the pair's attacking approach than the one inherited midway through last season.
McCarthy said: "It feels like it’s ours now and the gaffer’s remit is to build his squad and that’s his big strength.
"He’s like this encyclopedia of non-league football, he’s got so many contacts and he’s texting me all the time about players.
"He is as busy as anything talking to players and believe me there is lots going on. The gaffer will hold back a little bit because he understands how it works at this stage.
"It’s really interesting for me being around him and watching how he works as a manager. I think the fans will be really excited about who we have got lined up to come in."
McCarthy confessed it had taken longer than he expected to come to terms with relegation from the Conference Premier, particularly given the dramatic twist in the final game.
He said: "It was devastating for it to end the way it did and my wife would tell you how down I was.
"We know the Conference Premier is tough but we thought that if we stayed up and put things in place we could push on next season and have a go at getting in the play offs.
"We really thought that and to have it taken away from you right at the last was very hard."
Having taken some time to consider his future, Burr soon committed his future to the Blues and ex-Northern Ireland international McCarthy said he didn't take much convincing to follow suit.
He said: "Despite what happened, we feel like we did a good job and the players and the fans really responded to us so there was a lot of disappointment that we let people down.
"Now we are faced with the budget dropping and it changes things but we have been able to have a look at a lot of things and the potential here is huge.
"The gaffer has signed for two years because he sees that and we both want to get this club back where it belongs."
McCarthy played under Burr for Hucknall Town and Northwich Victoria, finishing atop the Conference North with both clubs.
He believes that experience could be crucial over the 2014-15 season, particularly with a host of clubs setting their sights on promotion.
“We went to watch the play off final between Altrincham and Guiseley last week to freshen us up," said McCarthy.
"We know we are going to be a big fish in a small pond and that we will be everybody’s cup final but we are excited about the new season."
