Dean Brennan says Barnet FC better prepared for League One push

Barnet FC manager Dean Brennan has declared the club "better equipped" to secure promotion to League One this season. The statement follows a summer of significant squad changes, with ten new players arriving to replace key departures. The Bees fell two points short of the League Two play-offs in their first season back in the Football League.

Brennan acknowledged the loss of several first-team players, including winger Ryan Glover, midfielders Anthony Hartigan and Mark Shelton, and striker Callum Stead. He told BBC Radio London that some players had moved to clubs with greater financial resources. "We didn’t want to lose a lot of our key players, but we have," he said.

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Squad overhaul aims for greater depth

The club has recruited ten new players, including defender Will Wright and goalkeeper Taye Ashby-Hammond. Brennan said the approach was to secure two players for each position to improve squad depth. "We’ve got better strength in depth this year," he said. "We’re better equipped because we know the level better now."

Barnet won the National League in the 2023-2024 season, securing promotion back to the Football League. The following season, they finished eighth in League Two, two points behind the play-off places. Brennan was appointed director of football in 2021 under then-manager Harry Kewell, before taking over as manager when Kewell was sacked after seven matches.

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“We set a high bar, all the time. It’s important we stay humble and keep our feet on the ground. We want to keep the momentum from the last two or three months of last season, when we were flying.”

Dean Brennan, Barnet FC manager

Financial constraints remain a challenge

Brennan compared Barnet’s progress to Bromley FC, where manager Andy Woodman secured promotion to League One in three seasons. "What Bromley did last season and what Andy has done at that club is miracle stuff," he said. "It’s very similar to what I’ve done here, bringing a lot of success in a short space of time, without spending lots of money."

Despite being among the favourites for promotion based on data and statistics, Brennan noted that Barnet remains in the bottom four financially. "The challenge for us is turning eighth place into second, third, or even the play-off positions," he said. "That’s the next question for us. Can we answer that question?"

What happens next

Barnet FC’s 2025-2026 League Two campaign begins in August. The club has not yet announced its full fixture list. Fans can follow pre-match and post-match coverage on BBC Sounds, which will include topical content on the Bees throughout the season.