Competitive football returns to the Sir Halley Stewart Playing Field tonight as Spalding United square off against old foes Stamford in the revamped Lincs Senior Trophy.
With just two pre-season friendly fixtures under their belt – a 2-1 loss at Wisbech Town on Saturday and a 4-1 victory at Oakham United on Tuesday – it does feel a little early for Spalding to be back in meaningful action.
That’s a view shared by Tulips chief Pat Rayment, who is looking at the Daniels derby (7.45pm kick off) as nothing more than a bonus friendly fixtures.
Indeed, winning the game and booking an additional fixture, a second round home clash with Gainsborough Trinity on Tuesday (7.45pm), is the only goal for Rayment.
While an added bonus, winning the county competition isn’t Rayment’s top target at this stage – simply getting minutes on the pitch is.
Failing to beat Evo-Stik League Premier Division outfit Stamford would leave Spalding without a fixture until next Saturday’s home clash with Holbeach United – and that’s not a scenario Rayment would be happy with.
The Spalding supremo said: “While I welcome the new-look format of the Lincs Senior Trophy, it’s essentially just another friendly.
“I don’t know about Stamford, but that’s how I see it, if I’m 100 per cent honest.
“We’re looking at it as a good workout, but with the additional incentive of earning the right to have another friendly against Gainsborough on Tuesday.
“Of course, it would be nice to win the competition.
“But it’s more important that we get another game in on Tuesday – it’d be a real blow to miss out on that.
“I do appreciate the new format. But for whoever loses, playing the first two rounds so close together is far from ideal at this stage of pre-season as it messes with pre-season planning.”
Barring defensive lynchpin Nathan Stainfield and Dan Banister, Spalding hope to have everyone available for Friday’s derby.
That means that Tulips fans will get their first glimpse of new signings Paul Walker, Neal Spafford, Dan Lawlor, Adam Millson, Sam Murphy, Michael Frew and Josh Moreman in blue.
Rayment has warned that his new-look squad will need time to gel together, but admits that he’s been very impressed by the tempo shown in training.
He added: “We’ve lost a lot of experience from the squad – I certainly regret losing Chris Hall, Jamie Stevens and Michael Leary over the summer.
“We’ve done a 70 per cent rebuild of the squad and it’ll take time for the lads to gel together – that’s a given.
“Results don’t really matter in pre-season, unless you get something like the 5-0 loss we suffered at Deeping last year. I won’t have that.
“The squad is talented and young – and that’s been reflected by the tempo in training. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Follow @Andrew_Clucas on Twitter for live updates from Friday’s clash.
Meanwhile, the Evo-Stik League First Division South fixtures were released on Thursday.
The Tulips kick off this season were they ended the last one – with a tough away trip to Romulus on August 16 (3pm).
They then host Loughborough Dynamo the following Tuesday (7.45pm) for what will be their first home league game of the campaign, before welcoming Tividale to the Sir Halley on August 22 (3pm).
Other dates in August include Sheffield FC (away, August 25, 7.45pm) and Gresley (away, August 31, 3pm).
