Hadleigh United boss, Shane Wardley, is determined to avoid a repeat of last season’s relegation battle, which saw the Suffolk club escape the drop into Division One of the Thurlow Nunn Eastern Counties League by the skin of their teeth.
Wardley is targeting a mid-table position for his Hadleigh side this season, and he is hoping for a winning start when they entertain FC Clacton in their campaign opener at Millfield this evening (kick-off 7.45pm).
“Last season we finished with a relatively small squad, especially by senior football standards,” explained Wardley.
“That can be hard when you are fighting against relegation towards the end of a season.
“That’s why I have recruited five or six new players over the summer. That should give us more strength in depth, with a squad of 17 or 18. We have several fresh faces, including attacker Danny Thrower, who was at Ipswich Wanderers last season, and Marco Makris, who was a member of Woodbridge Town’s title-winning side.
“Marco is a left-sided specialist, who can play left-back or further upfield. We also have 19-year-old Charlie Howlett, a defender who was on a scholarship in America last season.
“So we will be looking to consolidate this season, and hopefully finish in mid-table, after only managing to stay up because of Haverhill Borough’s ground issues,” added Wardley.
Hadleigh finished in 21st spot, the last relegation berth, but were given a reprieve because Haverhill Borough’s New Croft 3G pitch was not up to Step Five standards.
Former Ipswich Wanderers boss Wardley continued: “I think this club is too big to be involved in a relegation battle.
“It’s a good club with good facilities, and from my personal point of view we should be aiming for mid-table.
“We want to lay down a marker, beginning with our home match against Clacton.
“We did fairly well in pre-season, winning the games we should have done, and we were unlucky to lose 4-3 to Bury Town.
“So there are a lot of positives to take into the new season.”
In addition to Hadleigh’s home game against FC Clacton, there is one other game in the Premier Division tonight, with Histon entertaining Haverhill Rovers.
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