Hinckley AFC manager Courtney Belford is urging the people of the town to get behind his side as they start their new Midland League Division One campaign next Tuesday, 8th September.
Hinckley start a new era at their new home, groundsharing at Barwell’s Kirkby Road for the next three seasons, as they play their home games in the borough for the first time.
Their first game is on Tuesday with up to 300 supporters allowed into the ground – the first time in nearly six months that fans have been able to watch competitive football in the area.
And having seen good attendances even before they moved closer to their home town, Belford is hoping for a good turnout of supporters to cheer his side on.
“Get yourself down!” he urged. “It’s been a long time without football, so get yourself down to your local ground and support your local club. They need you more than ever at the moment. We want as many supporters down here as we can have.
“Non-league football is all about the fans. We want to play in front of a big crowd, that’s hopefully what we can get here and it’s great to be back in the borough.
“For us to do well at this club, the fans are a massive part of that. But for that to happen, we have to get results. We can’t churn out nothing and hope the fans keep coming, we have to give them something to turn up for.
“It’s nice to have the clubhouse here at Barwell that we can use to integrate with the fans and we’re really looking forward to having everyone here against Cadbury.”
The former Nuneaton Griff boss is excited about the squad he’s putting together, and says this season’s group has a good blend of experienced league winners and hungry young prospects.
But he admits he’d still like to add another play or two before the opening game.
“We’re a couple short. We lost Lewis Commins to Atherstone over the weekend, he’s done well for us but we only want lads who want to be here. We didn’t really want to get another one or two in because the whole squad has been together since May, but these things happen.
“We’ve got a fantastic group of lads, with really good characters. We’ve done everything properly and it’s now a case of getting the best out of what we’ve got.
“It’ll be tough for us to pick a side but we need competition for places. Last year we tried to run with 17 players but this year that’s unrealistic. We need a squad and everybody to compete for a shirt.”
After four wins and a draw from their pre-season campaign, in which they played six matches against higher level opposition, Belford is encouraged by his side’s form going into the start of competitive action.
“People say it’s not about results but you have to try and get a winning mentality. Every game we go into, we want to win.
“It’s been a good pre-season, everything we’ve done has been for a reason. I think we’ve planned it really well as a staff to get back into good habits.”
