Steelmen boss Graham Drury has told www.corbytownfc.co.uk that he cannot wait for the pre-season friendlies to begin, following a successful week on the training pitch with his new-look Corby Town squad.

“I’m really looking forward to them and being able to get a good look at all the players we’ve signed so far in the close season. Pre-season friendlies are a good test for the new members of the squad, to see whether they’ve got the right mentality, the right level of fitness and the right level of quality.

“At this moment in time, I haven’t got a clue what my strongest eleven will turn out to be.

"Right now we’ve got two players for almost every position, but I expect the stronger candidates to shine through during pre-season. I haven’t got any favourites at all, so in the eyes of myself and the coaches, they’re all out there to impress.

“I love the unpredictability of pre-season friendlies, because you don’t know what to expect from the players. Someone who you weren’t expecting much from can suddenly turn round and turn in spot on performances, turning into the surprise package.”

Corby Town’s first friendly will see them travel to Leicestershire where they will take on the Midlands Football Alliance champions, Coalville Town. Drury was impressed by the Ravens last season and fully expects a stern away test for the Steelmen.

“Winning the league by a record amount of points is no mean feat in any standard of football. Reaching and winning the FA Vase final was equally as impressive, especially the manner that they did it in. It’ll be a nice test for the lads, with it being the first game of the pre-season.”

The Steelmen play a number of away fixtures before the first ever home game in their new stadium on 25th July against Notts County. This is followed by three more home games against Stevenage, Kettering Town and Luton Town. But the boss hopes to have an idea of his strongest possible side before a ball is even kicked against the Magpies.

“The first few friendlies will help us to establish a number of things. Firstly our strongest eleven, our fitness levels, our strengths and our weaknesses. Are we conceding too many goals? Are we defending set pieces properly? Are we playing with the right formation and tactics? These are all questions we hope to answer in the first few games."

Despite the inevitable experimentation manner of pre-season friendlies, the Corby Town manager insists his winning mentality does not change.

“I always believe in winning. Be it in a league match or a friendly. It adds confidence to the team, which I believe is essential to playing good football. Our first three home games are going to be against opposition of a higher league stature then ourselves; so I’m seeing the matches as a three-way opening.

"We would be expected to be rolled over in all these games by the opposition, but we’ll be there to put in a performance. Fans want to see you score goals and play to the best of your ability and we’ll need to do that against teams of such a high standard. Personally I always go out to win the last game of pre-season; it instills the right mentality for the start of the new campaign.”

Drury has declared his excitement for the first game to be played in Corby’s new ground, but has admitted the day will be very emotional too.

“It will be a pleasurable day, especially for the fans. I’ve been stuck with that running track around the old stadium for three years now; it’ll be nice to finally play a game in an actual dedicated football stadium.

"Despite that, it will be very sad too. I would have hoped to walk the team out with Peter Mallinger, but obviously it wasn’t meant to be. We had many a conversation about the new stadium and he was very excited about its go-ahead. He won’t be physically there, but he’ll definitely be there in mind and spirit. He’d be very proud of what we’ve achieved so far and full of anticipation for what lies in store.”