Boston United squad must live football full time to be ready for the play-offs - Scott Garner

Scott Garner says the Boston United squad have to live the lives of full-time footballers to get in shape for the National League North play-offs.

The Pilgrims returned to training for the first time since March 12 last night after their COVID-19 testing came back negative.

But with Boston looking set to face the winners of Brackley Town versus Gateshead in the final four on either July 25 or 26, Garner knows the squad have to be in top condition.

Some squad members are classed as full-time footballers, Garner is among those with a day job, working in the family gardening and landscaping business. But he is determined to make sure he is match ready.

"They (the management team) can work us as hard as possible and get us as ready as they can, but it's up to ourselves," he told The Standard.

"We've got to act like full-time footballers for the next four to five weeks where every day is training, preparing yourself right. It'll fly past and we'll be walking out the tunnel into a semi where we need to produce.

"It's unheard of that you go into a semi-final after four months off, but it's exciting and about which team can turn up the best.

"It's about the best condition you can get yourself into at the time. You've got no form to go off apart from training, maybe one friendly game."

After months without football, Garner believes last night's return to training was the perfect tonic for everyone in the Pilgrims camp.

"I think it was the lift everyone needed," he added.

"It looked dead in the water and within 24 hours it's flipped on its head and the play-offs are on. There's excitement, you wake up and realise you've got to get ready for this as it'll come round real quick.

"It was brilliant, just good to get back out there. It was hard, a lot of fitness, ball work but good to be back and doing what we do.

"It was a release to be out there and being able to do something, rather than talking about doing stuff. You can tell everyone was dying to be back.

"While you're off you can try to do as much fitness as you want but it's impossible to keep up to the amount you do in training and games, so you're delighted to be back for that, to get fully fit and not just ticking over all the time."

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