Joint player/boss Matt Cawthorn feels that Long Sutton Athletic are ready to start moving upwards ahead of the start of their season this weekend.
The Magpies kick off their ChromaSport PDFL Division One season at Wittering on Sunday (5.30pm) in a game that is part of the Groundhop initiative.
With Billy Radeloff joining Cawthorn as co-boss over the summer and a host of new signings made, confidence is high at London Road again.
But, having finished 12th last season and 16th (bottom) the year before, there’s a long way to go for Sutton to reach their target of PDFL Premier Division football in the near future.
Cawthorn said: “The aim for this season is to get the playing side to somewhere close to where Long Sutton Athletic should be.
“Off the field, Paul Preston has taken over as chairman and Gary Turner is now vice chairman, but a big thank you goes to outgoing chairman Phil Ward. He’s Sutton through and through.
“With Billy Radeloff coming in as co-manager, we’re both on the understanding that we want to be playing PDFL Premier Division football as soon as possible.”
Pre-season was a mixed bag, with Sutton’s best result being a 6-0 win over Spalding Town. Cawthorn is happy with the squad he and Radeloff have assembled, but admits he’s still chasing a few more signatures.
He added: “We’re putting a tidy squad together and things are going OK at the moment.
“Pre-season was a mixture of results and performances. Players got minutes and we’ve stuck to a formation to build momentum going into this Sunday.
“We’ve spoken to a lot of players over the summer and secured Glen Woolmore, Ant Melton, Tom Coote, Jordan McCready, Harry Hagon, Matty Cousins, Joe Harrison and a host of young lads who will play for our under-18s.
“We’re pleased with our squad, but I’m currently working on bringing four lads in this week which will give us very good competition. Once I knew of their interest and availability I jumped at the chance to try and sign them.”
Crowland Town are also part of the Groundhop. They host AFC Stanground on Saturday (10.30am).
