Kettering Town evolving nicely says boss Hollyhead as pre-season tests get tougher
Simon Hollyhead is looking forward to seeing how his Kettering Town side shapes up as the pre-season preparations enter the final straight against teams that will provide sterner tests.
The Poppies have claimed three wins out of three to date, easing to wins over Spartan South Midlands League Step 6 sides Huntingdon and Desborough Town, and then beating Step 5 Moulton in the first round of the NFA Hillier Senior Cup on Saturday.
Things now start to heat up for Kettering, as they go to Step 4 outfit Bedworth United, who play in the Pitching-In Northern Premier League Midlands Division.
Pre-season is then wrapped up with a trip to Southern League Premier South side Evesham next Tuesday ahead of the final friendly on August 2 at Latimer Park against a team from the same division, Basingstoke Town.
The following weekend (Aug 9) will see the Poppies travel to Royston Town for their first league game, and Hollyhead is confident he and his team will be up to full speed ahead of that one.
"We are trying to evolve, we are trying to improve the things that we do, not just in training but taking it into fixtures," said the Poppies boss.
"We have an opportunity to do that against a Step 4 team on Saturday, and then we go to Evesham on Tuesday who have just been promoted to Step 3.
"We then have a game against an established Step 3 team the following Saturday, so it is up to us to keep improving.
"We are not about sitting inside our comfort zone, and the only way we will improve ourselves is by being outside our comfort zone and that is why we have these fixtures."
Hollyhead is still expected to add more new faces to his squad ahead of the big kick-off, but he is pleased with the business done to date, and how his team is starting to gel on the field.
"We have all seen the squad is starting to evolve, and what has happened in the past has happened,” said the Poppies boss.
"This is all about finding solutions with new relationships, new players, new ways of playing, and we shouldn't forget that the opposition from August 9 will be different to what it was last season.
"For us it is about just continuing the process."
Interview by Peter Short