SILSDEN boss Andy Geary is happy with the way his preparations are going and is looking forward to seeing how the new season pans out.

Geary said: “There have been some very promising displays in the friendly games under the circumstances. Some of the games were tough because of the extreme warm weather.

“And pre-season games are notorious for unavailability. Players can’t always get to midweek games, lots of them are away on holidays or have family commitments and some of them are not fit enough to be involved in all of them.

“We had 16 players for our first game but nine of them were missing for the next one so we had changes to make. ”

Kristian Hargreaves has departed to rejoin Thackley and it seems keeper Ed Hall could also be his way. Contingency plans are in place and the Cobbydalers hope to have a stronger squad after a 15th-place finish last term.

Geary said: “We weren’t that strong last year but we have done something about it. We have identified areas for improvement and we are working on them.”