RUGBY Town boss Carl Adams is hoping continuity is the key to success when the new United Counties League season eventually gets under way.
Adams looks to have retained his entire regular first team squad from the prematurely voided 2019/20 campaign, as Town’s pre-term training schedule continues to pick up pace.
Following Rugby’s third pre-season session, Adams reflected: “It was important we kept together the team that were going so well before the season was cancelled.”
UCL Premier Division fixtures were suspended on March 16 with Rugby handily placed in the promotion mix with just 11 games remaining.
They had scooped 30 points from the 11 games previous to that, leaving Adams confident he could achieve the advancement goal he set himself on arriving at Butlin Road two years ago.
He continued: “I still believe that, had the season completed as normal, we would have finished in at least second place based on the form we had been showing and the results we were getting.
“It’s great we don’t need to undergo an overhaul on the player front like some clubs will be forced to do. Of course I will be looking out for one or two new arrivals just to strengthen things even further, but our focus now is getting the lads sharp and ready for the return of competitive action.”
Valley have a six-match warm-up schedule which starts with a trip to Gresley on August 11 before a home friendly against Highgate on August 15.
Current Covid restrictions mean the practice games will be played behind closed doors, with Romulus and Barwell also due at Butlin Road before the action gets going for real – hopefully sometime towards the start of September.
The actual start date and the league and FA competition fixture listings have yet to be confirmed, but the UCL did announce the make-up of Town’s league will be identical to last season – subject to final ratification at a forthcoming league meeting.
Adams commented: “It’s good we have continuity in terms of who will be playing too, as it will given us an even clearer idea of what we are up against.
“The last two seasons have undoubtedly been a learning curve in terms of this league for most of us and we really can’t wait to get going now.”
Thanks to Jon Venner for his assistance in compiling this report.
