Poppies boss Hollyhead looking forward to home comforts against Basingstoke
Simon Hollyhead and his Kettering Town players are looking forward to enjoying some home comfort this weekend as they take on Basingstoke on Saturday (ko 1pm).
The pre-season friendly clash is the first at Latimer Park for the new Poppies boss, as well as the clutch of new signings that have joined the club over the summer.
Kettering have enjoyed an excellent unbeaten warm-up campaign so far, and go into the weekend off the back of a 1-1 draw at Evesham on Tuesday night, with the home side netting a last-gasp equaliser to cancel out Shane Flynn's opener and deny the Poppies another victory.
They now host Southern League Premier South outfit Basingstoke in what is their final friendly ahead of the Pitching-In Southern League Premier Central opener at Royston Town on August 9.
The much-criticised pitch at Latimer Park has undergone a lot of renovation work over the summer, and Hollyhead is looking forward to his team getting out there for the first time.
"We had a glimpse of the pitch last week, and I know there is a lot of work that has gone into it," the Poppies boss told Kettering's YouTube channel.
"That says a lot about the club really, the amount of work that has gone in on the pitch, especially with the weather we have had which, up until the past few days, hasn't been conducive.
"It is going to be a good feeling to actually get on the pitch, and it is something the lads are looking forward to.
"We want to get familiar with the pitch, the size of the pitch, the speed of the ball, so all the focus is on getting ready for Saturday."
Hollyhead was then asked if there are likely to be any new signings made ahead of the weekend.
"We are working really hard on it," said the Kettering boss.
"I think we are in good shape, but we just need to add a little bit more to help the group even though I really happy with the 17 guys we have in the building at the moment.
"If I was to say we are only looking to add one or two more, then I think that reflects where we think the squad is at.
"To get to this stage after so few weeks in pre-season is very complimentary towards a lot of people who work behind the scenes.
"George (Akhtar), Fabian (Forde) and the recruitment team have been fabulous over the last four and a half weeks that I have got to know them, and it sets us up really nicely for the final days of pre-season."
Saturday's friendly against Basingstoke has been declared a 'pay what you want' fixture.