FAIRFIELD Villa boss Wayne Davis wants his players to use their pre-season friendlies as the platform to become title-challengers.
Davis has been delighted to confirm the squad which ended the Midland League Division Two season as county cup winners will remain, while they have also added one-time Bromsgrove Sporting goalkeeper Elliott Hart plus ex-Droitwich and Alcester midfielder Max Crisp to the ranks.
Fairfield kick off the first of six warm-up matches tomorrow (Saturday) when they welcome Chelmsley Town to the Recreation Ground before they travel to Team Dudley on Tuesday.
Cup-winning goalscorer Jordan Allmark, player of the year James Finn, Ashley Banner, Scott Holiday, DJ Pitt and James Mckeon have been the latest players to pledge their future to Fairfield and Davis says their commitment reflects the togetherness that has been built in the last few seasons.
But he stressed they want to set their sights on league success when the 2018-2019 season begins on August 11.
“We have won two cups in the last two seasons,” said Davis. “Cups are nice but we want to have a real go at the league. We had a bad start last season and had too much to do but we still ended up winning one cup and getting to the final of another.
“It says a lot that all the players have stayed but it’s important we also add to the competition for places.”
Davis says performances, rather than results, will be key in pre-season, but the biggest plus will be to come through the games with a fully fit squad.
“We had a 100 per cent winning record in pre-season last year but then got two serious injuries and had a poor start,” said Davis. “You need that bit of luck as well.”
FRIENDLIES: Sat July 14 v Chelmsley Town, H (3pm); Tues July 17 v Team Dudley, A (7pm); Sat July 21 v Bromyard Town, H (3pm); Tues July 24 v Fairfield Res, H (7pm); Sat July 28 v Paget Rangers, H (3pm); Sat Aug 4 v Coventry Copsewood, A (3pm).
