I think on the whole we are pleased with last season. After being relegated I think in ideal circumstances you aim to bounce back up straight away, but as a club we are very realistic at where we are at and more than achieved what was expected I think the biggest disappointment would be the turnover of players but sometimes things are taken out of your hands and there’s not a lot we could of done about it but some valuable lessons for sure to take forward.

Any particular highlights or moments that stand out from last season?

There was some great matches last season and a few stand out for me personally. I think our performance at home to bowers winning 4-1 was one of the best since I’ve been at the club alongside wins at Bury, Walthamstow and Brentwood, but picking a moment I would have to go with the Zack Littlejohn winner at Witham in the last minute We had loads of fans there that day and it was an incredible afternoon.

How do you feel pre-season preparations have gone?

Pre-season has been quite strange It started very straight forward with a lot of last seasons’ squad committing but then unfortunately we lost some big players and to top it off lost Mikey and Zack to long term injuries, so there was definitely a period of concern. However, we have uncovered some real young hungry local talent who have been brilliant and managed to buy into everything we want to do very quickly and create a real buzz around the place.

Results have been ok and performances have been good but we know it counts for very little when the real stuff starts.

The club appears to have recruited young and local talent this summer. Is that something you feel is important?

Recruitment has been really tough in all honesty. We have had a big turnover of players over the years and it’s something we are trying to holt. However, the money that is available in non-league makes this very, very difficult in all honesty … so after losing some very big players such as Russell, Harris, Thompson, Green and Ted and then two long injuries we have had to have a re-think.

We know financially we are not in the top bracket in the league, but we have had great success with younger players over the years, so we worked very hard on trying to uncover the best young players in the area We have managed to get Fletch and Finn in from Swindon and Jayden on loan from Billericay plus Lawlor from Oakley to name just a few. All under the age of 21. I think 13/14 of our 19 are under the age 21 and it’s a model we hope will excite everyone and bring us success short and long term.

The league restructuring will see us with some different fixtures this year. Any that you are particularly looking forward to?

The league looks stronger than ever this year to be honest and it’s certainly pleasing to see some new teams I think if I had to pick one new Club I’d like to visit it’s Waltham abbey. We went there a couple years back and had a great game in the FA cup plus the facility is really good and the pitch is fantastic So yeah looking forward to that plus Cambridge look they have a brilliant facility too.

If you had to pick one team for the Isthmian North Title, who would it be?

It’s really tough picking a league favourite this year because I think there’s a host of teams that can win it. Obviously, I would always say us but leaving us out of it I would probably go with Brentwood Town. I think player wise they probably have the best squad and some real experience, but I think Maldon have been the loudest and have recruited very well, however you can’t rule out the usual suspects.

Bury were the best team we played last season so will definitely be there then you have Felixstowe who have a very good side Walthamstow too but I’m sure there will be a few surprise packages

Do you feel that a full season at step 4 has provided invaluable insight ahead of the new campaign?

Absolutely! You can’t put a price on experience and I learned an awful lot last season. It’s easy to forget it was my first season at step 4 plus a lot of the players too so valuable lessons learned!

Finally, the team will have the backing of the Regent faithful once again. Any words for them?

My words to the fans are what I repeatedly say and that’s “we need you” more than what anyone realises. We have built another side that we think reflects ‘Brightlingsea Regent’
A hard-working unit that will give everything and will go toe to toe with anything that’s thrown our way I think our fans are very similar on that front. We maybe small in stature but that doesn’t mean we won’t make a lot of noise!

Best of luck to Brett and the boys for Saturday. See you all at North Road, 3PM. Come on you Rs!