JOINT-BOSS Wayne Oliver believes his players will feel the benefits of Droitwich Spa’s rigorous training regime when the season gets up and running.
Since returning to the club, Oliver and Mark Owen have put their troops through their paces, with a series of fitness tests, boxing sessions and even yoga lessons.
On the pitch, meanwhile, Droitwich have managed just one win in four friendly games as Worcester City came from behind to beat them 3-1 on Tuesday night.
However, Oliver is confident his players’ hard work in training will pay off when their Midland Football League Division Two campaign kicks off on Saturday, August 15 with a home match against Hampton.
“I think the players are suffering a little bit from tiredness at the moment, but I think that is due to the amount of work and intensity that we have asked from them,” he said.
“Pre-season has been quite hectic and heavy, but they’ve all taken to it really well.
“We have not set an easy pre-season fixture list, so I have just asked the lads to see how far they can keep themselves in games.
“We were level against Stourport with five minutes to go and then scored an own goal, conceded a penalty and lost the match.
“Then, against Worcester, we were in the match for 80 minutes and again scored an own goal and gave away a penalty.
“That’s just down to tired legs, but hopefully when the season comes into play, they’ll be better for it.”
A total of four players have been offered a trial at Droitwich, but Oliver, whose side take on Midland League Division One visitors Racing Club Warwick tomorrow (Saturday), insisted he would not be rushing into making any signings.
“We are piecing together the jigsaw at the moment,” he added. “We know what the lads we had last year are capable of. But it is trying to give the trialists a fair chance and see what they can add to the squad.
“There’s no panic at this stage, though. They’ll be a lot of players available come the first couple of weeks of the season where teams have had big squads and need to whittle them down to 18 or 20 players.
“There will be lots of players available, so we are just biding our time.”
