Pre-season offers Sleaford Town players chance to make places their own, says boss Jamie Shaw

Sleaford Town manager Jamie Shaw says he has ‘an idea’ of what his starting XI could be come the start of the campaign, but knows all that could change.

“We’ve been working hard on a number of targets we wanted to bring in to the club and been successful in some and not successful in others,” he said.

“You’re starting to integrate them into a starting XI you’ll have in mind at the start of the season, but I don’t think there’s yet been a pre-season that people I first had in mind on July 1 have been the starting XI at the end of July, for either good or bad.

“You lose some players as they do well in pre-season and higher level clubs get alerted to them, that’s a fact of life. Then you get people who you think will be fringe players who come into pre-season a year older or more mature, they’ve bulked up and they’re a different player.

“Suddenly someone you thought might get 10 or 12 games in a season becomes an automatic starter. Situations will change over pre-season.”

The Greens are expecting to announce signings in the near future.

They will kick off their UCL Premier North campaign at Pinchbeck United on August 4.

Meanwhile, they will travel to Anstey Nomads in the FA Cup extra-preliminary round on August 7 and will face Shirebrook Town in the second round of the FA Vase on September 20.

On Saturday Town travel to Lincoln Moorlands for a friendly.