Hemel Town manager Dean Brennan says that his side are raring to go as they prepare for their first season in the Conference South.
The new campaign gets under way in earnest on Saturday, and Brennan says his team are in good shape ahead of the curtain-raiser at Basingstoke Town.
“It’s been a good pre-season so far for us,” said Brennan. “We managed to recruit half a dozen new players and they all bring different qualities to the squad.
“We have had some bad luck with injuries to David King, James Potton and Moussa Diarra but this is expected in our game and I know we have the squad to deal with this scenario.”
It has been a busy summer for Brennan, and he is pleased with the additions he has made to the Tudors’ squad.
“All the new signings have settled in well,” he said. “We are concentrating on the players fitting into our style of play and the new players knowing their role within our squad.
“We are delighted with how we have recruited this summer; it took some time to get all the players in we needed but I feel over the coming month the team will settle down and start to gel.”
Hemel have had a busy pre-season schedule, which finishes with a visit from a Watford XI to Vauxhall Road tonight.
And Brennan says this has given him a good chance to look at his squad ahead of the new campaign.
“Team selection in a non-league pre-season can be very difficult,” he said. “Some players are on holidays, some players have work commitments, and some players pick up injuries.
“What we try do is make sure everyone gets the same amount of minutes to get match sharpness, plus the players get the same opportunity to make sure they nail a starting place in the team come Saturday.
“We always give the players a fair opportunity to show us what they can do.”
It is an exciting town for Hemel fans, and Brennan is adamant that his team will be ready for the Conference South challenge.
He said: “The football club is buzzing, everyone is looking forward to the new season.
“For me and the team we have to concentrate on taking it game by game and keep that focus no matter how results go.
“We always set targets as a team and also we set the players individual targets too.
“This is something we keep in house, but if we can achieve the targets I have set the squad we will have very good season.
“We need to keep sticking together and we also need the supporters to keep creating that fantastic atmosphere they do.”