Spalding United take their first on-field step to preparing for the new challenge of National League North football on Tuesday, when they welcome AFC Rushden & Diamonds to the Sir Halley Stewart Field for their first friendly of the season, 7.45pm.
The players have started pre-season training and manager Jimmy Dean is confident his team will be able to match anything their new opponents throw at them.
“I expect us to be a real 90-minute team that can play with intensity and at the levels that we need to be successful,” he said. “We’ll have a physical side but we can play football as well.”
Dean is determined to prove the doubters wrong, who forecast a season of struggle for the Southern League play-off winners. “I’ve seen some predictions that put us in the relegation zone but I can’t see that happening I’ve spoken to the chairman and my remit is to consolidate this year. We don’t want to be flirting with relegation. I want to get off to a good start and get points on the board. After that, we’ll see what we can do.”
The new season fixtures are due out next Friday and Dean is confident he has already put in place most of the squad he believes will succeed at Step Two.
“It’s massive to have kept the core of last year’s squad together. A lot of those lads are accomplished enough to play at this level. We lost a couple but I’m more than happy with who we’ve kept.
“We’ve got four new lads in and we’re looking at another three or four but they need to be the right kind to add to us on and off the field.”
