The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
Chairman Gary Coomes has revealed that there is no real target for Pinchbeck United ahead of the start of the new Uhslport UCL Premier Division season this weekend.
The Knights, who are still without a manager after talks with their preferred candidate broke down, have the daunting task of hosting title hopefuls Rugby Town on Saturday (3pm).
Pinchbeck would almost certainly have been relegated if last season had reached a natural conclusion, but they were one of the teams who benefitted most from the voiding of the campaign due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Coomes, who is set to talk to as many as three other people this week as he looks for Ian Dunn’s replacement, will take joint charge of the game alongside first team coach Alfie Tate.
And he feels the Knights already have enough about them to steer clear of the relegation places this season, but stopped short of setting any kind of requirement for the 2020/21 campaign.
“Obviously we’d have preferred to start the season with a manager in place,” said Coomes. “We had a very positive interview last week, but we couldn’t quite agree on the finer details.
“It’s a shame, but that’s football. We have to look elsewhere now and there are a few other candidates that have been in touch.
“Between young Alfie and myself, we can look after things until we find the right person.
“Whoever does come in will find a very competitive squad. I’m very happy with the players that we’ve managed to sign and there is still room for a new manager to make the changes he wants, too.
“Last year was difficult for the club and we didn’t really get the results we wanted. I’m not anticipating that we’ll be down the bottom again, but obviously we’re not expecting to be challenging at the top either.
“Take the top two and the bottom two out of the mix and I’d be happy with anywhere in between. There will be no target, we’ll just see how things go. You only have to look at pre-season to see that we’re a competitive side. We might not have beaten Spalding United, Holbeach United and Wisbech Town – but we pushed them all.
“Against Bourne on Saturday, we could easily have won by more than the 4-0 scoreline.
“So, I’m happy with the squad we have, we just need to sort the management situation out. I won’t rush into it, though, it has to be the right person.
“There certainly won’t be any pressure here, we want to build the infrastructure off the field and enjoy our football on the field.”
Pinchbeck announced a number of new signings over the weekend, with their current first team squad now 17-strong.
Former Peterborough Northern Star winger Matt Barber is perhaps the pick of the new arrivals, while talented youngster Finlay Armond and keeper Ben Martin have also signed forms.
Joining them in the first team are Dan Abayomi and Joe Cottingham, who initially joined the Reserve team but have impressed during pre-season.
Pinchbeck, who lost 4-0 against St Neots Town in the Emirates FA Cup on Wednesday, also visit Sleaford Town on Wednesday night (7.45pm).
The Lincolnshire duo were in the bottom two when the season came to a close and Coomes admitted that they’ll be looking to take points off each other.
“I think it’s fair to say that both us and Sleaford will want to win against each other, given how last season went. Both teams will be hoping to do much better this year.”
