AHEAD of their difficult trip to face Evesham United in the opening game of the new season this weekend, Yate Town manager Craig Laird is confident of getting off to a good start to push for promotion.
Town enjoyed an impressive run of form at the tail-end of last season, picking up 14 points from a possible 18 in their last six league games, but were left ruing a slump in form all the way back in September that saw them winless in the league for the entire month.
As a result, the new manager is desperate to get things right as he enters his first full season in charge.
Yate Town finished 6th in the table, five points off a playoff spot, and 19 points off this weekend’s opponents, so they know they’re in for a difficult game against Evesham.
However, their form on the road has been impressive this year, losing just two of their nine away games this year, as well winning two pre-season friendlies on their travels.
As a result, Laird is hoping his side can defy the odds and turn in a good performance against Evesham to come away with all three points on Saturday.
“We have had a good pre season, and are trying to gel into one cohesive unit,” he said.
“There’s been lots of work to do ahead of the season, but the lads have been excellent since I’ve joined.
“At the end of last season, the boys did a fantastic job in seeing out the campaign strongly.
“This summer, we have been working on organisation, doing drills without the ball and trying to raise fitness levels.
“Each player cannot work without the other, and we will carry on that ethos into 2015/16.
“And while the league is more than competitive, we’d like to win promotion this season.
“We will have a more clear indication of our chances of promotion 10 games into the new campaign, but we need to concentrate and start strongly.
“It’s vital to have a level of consistency in a promotion-chase, as one slip can see you needing to make ground on the sides above you in the table.
“The aim for us is to be able to string back to back results together, and the rest should follow. We can’t afford a slow start or we risk playing catch-up.
Laird has been under no illusions at the task in hand this season, and he’s not taking anything for granted ahead of their clash against Evesham either,
He’s predicting a difficult game given how much the home side have strengthened in the summer.
“Evesham have spent a bit of money, and have an experienced manager knows what’s needed”
“But the season isn’t won or lost this early. Ideally, you want to get a good start, so if we can do that we will put ourselves in a great position.”