UPBEAT Harrow Borough boss Steve Baker believes his side will be in tip-top shape by the time the new Southern League Premier South season kicks off in mid-August.
After two campaigns in a row have failed to reach a conclusion due to the effects of the pandemic, Baker is hoping it's a case of third time lucky this time around.
The 47-year-old, who has notched up six years in the Earlsmead hotseat, has used all the thinking time he's had to come up with a blueprint so his Boro side hit the ground running and if you're thinking of placing a bet on the football next season, check out this sports betting site.
A big element of that has been trying to mould his squad as early as possible.
“Normally everyone does the same thing,” explained the ex-Hayes midfielder. “You waste your first five or six games looking at players, you don't keep most of them and then you have five or six games before the season starts.
“This time, we have already had our pre-season trial games over the last six weeks. When we start back playing, I won't be looking at trialists, I'll be playing the squad. We can work on shape, set-pieces – things you normally end up doing on the last Thursday before the season starts!”
Getting his players sharp after two disjointed seasons is one of the reasons why Baker has also arranged a whopping 14 friendlies before the new term begins, kicking off with a trip to Virginia Water on Thursday.
“Some people will say it's too many games, but I don't think it is,” he said. “The players haven't played football and they need to do that. Hopefully I'll be able to give everyone ten full games in pre-season and they will be up to speed when the seasons starts rather than six games in.
“These days players return to pre-season training in good shape, so my job isn't to get them fit, it's to get them match fit.”
Balance
Having more time to work with his chosen group will also allow Baker to implement a slight change of approach in the coming campaign.
“If you give players too much freedom at our level, they have a ready-made excuse when it doesn't work,” explained the former Chipstead, Egham and Walton & Hersham boss. “We are going to be a little bit more structured in our play this year, keep it a bit more simple.
“On our day, we are very good, but when we aren't very good, we are poor. We have to find a balance when it isn't so good.”
Baker admits that he ‘disappointed' with a couple of players who moved on, but believes he has the nucleus of a decent squad with a few more signings to come.
He is delighted to have goalkeeper Dan Lincoln and striker James Ewington on board. Lincoln, 26, has featured for the likes of Bognor Regis and Hampton & Richmond, and also played cricket for Middlesex. Ewington, 31, has arrived from Beaconsfield Town.
“Dan signed last season but only played friendlies,” said Baker, who penned a new two-year contract in April. “We needed an experienced keeper.
“James's goal record is phenomenal over the last few years. We've lost Liam Ferdinand, which is a big blow, but hopefully James will fill that void.”
Boro were in the lower reaches of the table when each of the last two seasons came to a halt, but Baker is hoping they can recapture the form that saw them finish seventh in 2018-19.
“It will depend on how strong our squad is,” he added. “Budget-wise, we will probably have the second lowest, or lowest, but I don't complain about that. It just makes the job a little bit harder.
“In the last full season we just missed out on the play-offs and they will be the target. It will be difficult, but we will have a go.”
