By Andrew Tidswell
Elite Sports Academy MD and Holbeach Utd player/coach
No team will set out for the new season with the mentality to come second or below.
So with that being said, the hope for Holbeach United this season is to be number one.
If you’re happy to come second then, for me, you shouldn’t be a sports competitor.
You should want to win everything you enter and I am certainly no different.
Pre-season for us has seen a lot of new faces and a few new systems tried – so like anything it takes time to gel and see what works and what doesn’t.
This week will see the management team working towards making sure the boys are as sharp as possible for the big kick off this Saturday.
A good start to the season is paramount for any team wanting to be up there at the business end.
I expect the likes of Wisbech Town, who have put together a good team under the new stewardship of former Yaxley manager Brett Whaley, to be contending.
I also expect Leicester Nirvana (formerly Thurnby Nirvana) to be tough opposition and a team who will be right in the title mix.
I know they have lost some key players from last season. But they still have a great group who are also very talented.
You then have the teams who are always tough competitors.
Teams like Cogenhoe United, Yaxley and Newport Pagnell, who I also expect to occupy top eight positions throughout the season.
My surprise package for the season – and a team to keep on the lookout for – is AFC Kempston Rovers.
Over the last few season they have been putting pieces together like a jigsaw.
The facility they have over there is very good and by all accounts self-sufficient.
So with a great base, I’d be expecting something to happen over there quite soon.
