It's a little under eight-weeks since the sun set on Aldershot Town's League Two Play Off dreams at the Don Valley Stadium in Sheffield, but the following weeks will see renewed optimism build once again as Kevin Dillon's [pictured right] side get their collective minds focused for another assault on promotion from League Two.
Having reported back for pre-season training on Monday 5th July, the players have already spent a week working on their fitness and have now based themselves at Millfield School in Street, Somerset as they step their training regime up a pace ahead of hitting the field of play.
"We met up at three-o'clock on Sunday and did a training session and we've got some nice little surprises for them [the players] during the week," Shots manager Kevin Dillon told The Shots Online.
"There'll be a lot of ball-work, we haven't had the goals out at Bourley Road, but the goals are out out at Millfield.
"We've got the facilities for swimming and there is plenty of areas of recreation, so we're also going to let them relax and play snooker, table tennis and probably put a quiz on and we may let them out to the local village for something to eat and a glass of wine but they're there to work and they know that and it's not a usual thing for Aldershot to take teams away, but we felt it would be great for that togetherness and will help team bonding, so the facilities at Millfield are superb.
"Things are moving in a positive direction and I think the club have moved on a hell of a lot since promotion from the Conference and it's a gradual thing, you can't do it over-night."
Shots team news:
Traditionally the pre-season is a time for management to cast their eyes over one or two trialists while contracted players re-gain that much needed match sharpness ahead of the league season, and with the summer departures of Chris Blackburn, John Grant, Lewis Chalmers, Mikhael Jaimez-Ruiz, Dean Howell, Omer Riza, Aaron Brown, Scott Donnelly, Dave Winfield and Andy Sandell, this pre-season has been no different.
While Shots manager Dillon has already confirmed the signings of defenders Darren Jones and Jamie Vincent along with midfielders Luke Guttridge and Emmanuel Panther as well as the return of forward Damian Spencer, he will continue to search for the final pieces that will make up the majority of his sides "jigsaw" as he construct his own Shots team following the end of the Waddock era last October.
Former Bristol City legend Scott Murray and Portsmouth legend Glen Little have both been confirmed as being "training with the club" as has former Everton youngster Kevin McLeod who was released by Wycombe Wanderers at the end of last month and Dillon confirmed that he is still after a couple more players to add to his squad.
"There's a couple more signings to come in and the budget has been sorted out but there is always room to move on that if I was to come in and ask for a particular player who we believed would be a great signing. I'm sure the Board will help us to do that but I'm going to try and stick to what I've got, but there should be another couple coming in.
"I've got potentially got a couple of long term loan signings from Championship clubs but there's also a couple of lads who have left clubs, one has left a League One club and one has left a Championship club that was promoted, but they're both trialing with other clubs at the moment and I'm hoping they don't do particularly well so that I get a call from their agents in the next couple of days and we'll get them down to Millfield!"
Shots from: Jamie Young, Ben Herd, Anthony Straker, Anthony Charles, Darren Jones, Jamie Vincent, Ben Harding, John Halls, Luke Guttridge, Emmanuel Panther, Reece Connolly, Danny Hylton, Marvin Morgan, Jack Randall, Damian Spencer.
The opposition:
For their part, the Almonds will be raring to get their own season underway, having steered a successful course through the Hellenic Premier Division last term, winning the league title with 99 points and scoring 111 goals during their 42-game campaign.
While preparations for the season were initially hampered by negotiations between the club and their landlords, the Gloucestershire FA and the FA rejected a ground-share agreement with Clevedon Town, the club have sealed a further years lease at Oaklands Park as they step up to the Southern League Division One South & West for the first time in the clubs history.
Speaking to The Stray Shots about how the club are looking forwards to their new challenge, manager Richard Thompson told us: "One thing is for sure - it's far better to be involved in the Southern League than the Hellenic.
"This is a new challenge for the club and one that they deserve due to the hard work that has gone on behind the scenes. We are quietly confident that we will hold our own and if things go well could even surprise a few.
"Having spent the majority of my managerial career in the Southern League I feel more confident about this season as I understand it far more than the Hellenic.
"We are very grateful that The Shots have agreed to come and play us and it will be a great test for all of us at Almondsbury.
"It will set us up for the rest of our pre-season and hopefully prepare us for a good start when the actual season gets underway."
Thompson concluded by saying: "We will have only completed five training sessions by the time the match takes place so it could be a difficult night for us in terms of fitness as it takes a little while to gain that at this level, but it is a great opportunity for my team to face full-time players and they will be able to gauge how their own performances fair and see how far they have come.
"I think this would be a good time for me to thank both Kevin [Dillon] and Gary [Owers] for bringing their side to play us!"
Almonds from: Stewart Jones, Lee Matthews, Lee Bridson, Lee Jefferies, Dale Peckham, Marcus Mapstone, Chris Williams, Tony Davis, Aaron Cornwall, Jason Wood, David Anyinsah, Todd Winter, Nick Dunn, Paul Chenoweth, Ross Stearn, Dean Griffiths, Sahr Kabba, Michael Whittington and Aaron Blackmore.
Taking charge:
Kevin Johnson will be taking charge of the match and he will be assisted by Dave Ricketts and Mark Russell.
Tickets and travel:
Entry to Oaklands Park is set at £5 for adults and £2 for concessions. Children accompanied by an adult are free. Supporters attending the match can pay on the day at the turnstiles.
Access for disabled supporters is via the gate located next to the turnstiles.
The Aldershot Town Supporters Trust are not running any coach travel to pre-season fixtures but supporters looking to attend the match can plan their journey here.
- You can visit the official Almondsbury Town website here.