DROITWICH Spa joint-boss Wayne Oliver knows his squad are itching to get back into competitive action but they will have to wait another week to do so with pre-season now complete.
The Saltmen rounded off their summer schedule last Saturday afternoon with a resounding 12-0 victory over Herefordshire side Hinton.
Callum Morris (3), Dan Cottrill (2), Haydn Morris, Francis Rowlands, Jack Davies, Cutris Townley and Ollie Thompson found the back of the net with two own goals adding to Spa’s cause.
The emphatic victory came off the back of last Thursday evening’s 3-1 defeat to Midland League Premier Division outfit Stourport Swifts.
With pre-season now finished, it would have been a fortnight away from action for Spa by the time Oliver’s and Mark Owen’s men kick off their West Midlands (Regional) League Division One campaign away to Sikh Hunters on Saturday, August 18.
“The squad is ready for a competitive league fixture,” said Oliver.
“We have given the lads this weekend off but we will have them back in for training on Tuesday and Thursday.
“Those sessions will be used to polish things up before the season gets underway properly next weekend.
“Overall we have been happy with how pre-season has gone and we have found it difficult to pick any faults.
“The lads are getting more and more used to the new style of play we are trying but we know if it doesn’t quite work in the league we can revert back to our old way of playing.”
Ahead of the new season Spa are carrying a huge squad of 25 players, two more than they did last year.
However, there is method in the madness.
“Having a lot of players will help us have cover for when players are on holiday or when we are struggling for numbers in midweek,” added Oliver.
“But also complacency can creep in with the same squad every week so we have added extra numbers so it gives us variation across the pitch and team.
“We shall see how long we can run with a big squad.”
