Bell 'pleasantly surprised' with Corby's business so far

The new Corby Town boss has been faced with something of a rebuilding job following the club’s relegation from the Evo-Stik Northern Premier League Premier Division on the final day of last season.Bell will be working with a reduced budget as the Steelmen prepare for life in Division One South but that hasn’t stopped him from making early inroads in throwing together a new-look squad.Lee Stevenson was confirmed as the club’s first summer signing while the likes of Sam Mulready, Jordan Yong, Conor Marshall and Grant Ryan have all agreed deals to join Corby.With four members of last season’s squad – Jason Lee, Miles Smith, Jamie Anton and Jordon Crawford – all agreeing to stay on, it has been a solid start to Bell’s summer work.Corby will reconvene for pre-season training on June 27 ahead of their opening friendly at Blaby & Whetstone on Tuesday, July 4.And Bell said: “I am pleasantly surprised with the amount of work we have done in a small space of time.“A lot of players in non-League football understandably take their time to see what is out there for them.“But the lads we have spoken to have been keen to come here and are on board with what we want to achieve.“It’s always important to get that first signing done, we got it done early and there was a bit of a snowball effect after that with players agreeing to come here.“We are still speaking to some other lads and we will continue talking to some of our targets.“But we will be back together at the end of the month and looking forward to getting things started.”The Steelmen’s first home pre-season friendly is due to be against Brackley Town at Steel Park on Saturday, July 15.