Mark Maguire says he would not want to swap places with the budget of Forest Green Rovers.

The Chester FC chief executive, speaking to the Chronicle, stated his belief that it is the value achieved from a budget, not just its size, that is key to success in the National League.

And with Chester having one of the lowest budgets in the division this season, Maguire pointed to Jon McCarthy as a manager who has worked ‘magic’ with the resources at his disposal.

Said Maguire: “I think there are a combination of factors and it is easy to get carried away and downhearted when you look at Tranmere Rovers who have a budget that is probably four times ours. You can get depressed and obsessed by that.

Chester chief executive Mark Maguire

“What the job here is is to grow gradually and have a manager in place who gets value out of their budget. That’s because of the way he puts the squad together and because of the way he puts an emphasis on youth and that we are developing players and giving players a second chance who have been at a higher level and want to start again.

“You wouldn’t want to swap places with Forest Green and the budget that they have got because, no disrespect, there is no value in that budget. That is not the route we would want to go down. It is not a case of wanting to compete with that level of budget but more a case of getting that bit more to Jon to work his magic with, and he does work magic and continually pulls rabbits out of hats.”

Maguire acknowledges that next season will likely be even tougher for the Blues in terms of competing with financial muscle.

While the likes of Tranmere and Forest Green may find their way to the Football League, teams with plentiful resources such as National League North outfits Salford City and AFC Fylde will have the money to mount a challenge at the top.

Said Maguire: “It will be tougher next year and the teams coming up will have more money, but we are certainly not demoralised by that and we are encouraged with the chance to give him a little bit more to work with. We are confident of making a good go of it next season.”