It’s been a great start with the lads. So far over the last week we’ve worked on physical conditioning and assessed where we are at individual and as a group. Most players look after themselves during the off-season with gym and good nutrition, so overall we are happy with the initial fitness levels considering we still have over a month to go until our league campaign starts. For those that have come back late or need extra work we have obtained the services of retired firefighter and now personal trainer John Ripley (John Ripley Fitness) who comes in as Fitness coach. John will be able to get whose who are behind up to speed quickly while assisting others where required. Excluding the 9 pre-season matches we have 15 training sessions planned before the league starts so we have plenty of time to get the whole squad prepared.

Squad news…

We are shaping up very nicely and are not far off where we want to be. We are still in talks with a few players, naturally circumstances change with players and clubs throughout the pre-season period so we will see how these pan out. Regardless, we have a good balance in the squad already assembled and a big have increased experience on and off the pitch. Last but by no means least, I would like to introduce Mark Taylor to the club as a member of the First Team coaching set up. Mark is someone who we have worked with previously and has fantastic ideas to bring to the table. A great attitude, commitment and understands our philosophy, Mark has also recently been accepted onto the 19/20 UEFA B course.

Maidstone United…

Tomorrow we welcome Maidstone United of the National League South to Winches Field for our first pre-season friendly. The game was set up following former Bay player Jake Embery’s transfer to the Stones. We look forward to welcoming him back to Winches field and I am sure that, should he play, he will get a warm reception from the bay supporters. As has been widely publicised in the world of non-league football, Maidstone have recruited heavily, capturing some impressive signings including ex-premier league players. No doubt, as with our players, they will be wanting to make an instant impression to their management. We will embrace the challenge and it is set to be a great game for both clubs and sets of supporters.
It will be a tough test for us physically and mentally against a full time club, especially with the hot weather predicted and naturally you want to win every game of football, but the aim of pre-season as a whole is to get the fitness in and prepare tactically for the start of the league season.

Supporter involvement…

The effort and commitment from supporters over the last 4-5 weeks has been incredible. Everyone, involved yet or not, have really embraced the ‘fresh start’ and have shown real sense of pride and ownership of ‘their’ club. There are now dedicated people in place to ensure that we can continually make improvements to the ground over the longer term. This is really exciting and probably a relief to the individuals that have fought hard to keep the ground usable over the years. I know the chairman has further plans to increase the engagement of supporters in the club which I am sure will be welcomed and will continue to improve the positivity. All of the above is essential for the club move forward on and off the pitch.

Local youth team involvement...

The response to the offer put out for the Maidstone friendly for the youth has been fantastic. We, as the senior first team, are very fortunate to have such fantastic youth set ups in Herne bay. We will embrace all the youth teams going forward, so far we have had the pleasure of attending presentations, registration nights and tournaments organised by these clubs and each one was very impressive. Alan Birchard and Danny Surbey will be working extremely hard this year to develop and enhance the current foundations while building the relationships with all the local clubs. This in turn will help us deliver a development pathway for youth players able to progress them into the first team (or even professional level).

Enjoy the game Saturday, keep an eye on the website and social media for all the latest news throughout pre-season!