It’s now game time for the Poppies

The Poppies will play a behind-closed-doors friendly against Desborough Town before their first official outing at Southern League Premier Central side Tamworth on Saturday.

That is followed by the NFA Hillier Senior Cup first-round clash at Bugbrooke St Michaels next Tuesday night.

And boss Lee Glover intends to use the first three games of the summer to run the rule over a number of trialists while also boosting the fitness of those already signed up.

“We are looking forward to it, it will be good to get the boys a run-out,” Glover said.

“We have a behind-closed-doors game at Desborough tonight (Thursday).

“Everyone who has been in training with us will get a run-out.

“We have three games in a short space of time and I am hoping that at the end of those matches, everyone who is with us will have had sufficient game time for the ones who are signed to get fitter and for the trialists for us to have a good look at them.

“We have had some good lads who have come in and it will be good to have a look at them in match situations.

“For those who have already signed, it’s about topping up the fitness. I managed to get a fitness programme from sport scientist at Derby County so the lads have been working hard already.

“All we are doing is building towards that first game of the season.”

The Poppies now know that first game of the season on August 6 will be a trip to AFC Fylde and Glover insists there will be more players coming through the door before that date rolls around.

“There’s still room for more players, of course, and we will be doing work to get them in,” the Kettering manager added.

“It’s all about trying to take the club forward and improving on what we have got.

“There are some good lads we have got in and we will be looking to add even more quality to the squad as pre-season progresses.”