A strong Hallam squad will be unveiled in the coming days, Craig Denton has promised.
So far deadly striker Kieran Watson and combative midfielder Danny Patterson are confirmed to be staying from last season’s line-up ahead of the new Toolstation NCEL Division One season.
Armthorpe Welfare striker Adam Baskerville and ex-Sheffield FC stalwart James Gregory are the other two signings which have been announced.
More will be revealed soon and former Worksop Town title-winning boss Denton says people will see a very competitive side emerge.
“We have had some good news over the past couple of days as we have been able to keep hold of Kieran Watson who is obviously a prolific goal-scorer in the league,” Denton told Non League Yorkshire.
“We’re delighted he is staying with us.
“Most of the group from last season have decided to stay such as the likes of the Patterson brothers (Danny and Richard) who have been influential for us in terms of their leadership and experience.
“We’re looking to add one-or-two new faces to freshen it up as well.
“But hopefully it will be an attacking and fast side with lots of experience.
“I know a lot of clubs in the Northern Counties Division One will have the same sort of feel, but I’m looking forward to it and looking forward to that first game of the season and kicking on.
“I think I have recruited the players to compete.
“I wouldn’t put words in the lads’ mouths, but they want to win games and they want to win the league.
“I certainly wouldn’t have been able to recruit the players I have done if I said to them ‘oh we’re going to see how it goes and hopefully we’ll do this and that’.
“We want to be in and around it and be challenging and I genuinely think we have the tools to do it and with a bit of luck, hard work, desire and commitment hopefully we will be challenging.”
One major plus point for Denton ahead of the new campaign is that he has a set of players who have been with the club for a year and are well-tuned to his and his management team’s methods and demands.
Building a brand new team can take time and results were indifferent during the short and aborted 2020/21 season so Denton agrees keeping the squad together is an advantage.
“I thought when I took the job it was literally a fresh start,” he said.
“We started from scratch and I didn’t feel we had as much time to prepare as I have for this season.
“I was really happy with the additions from last season so we have carried that group over.
“Some players came along at the beginning of last season and it didn’t work out for them.
“Myself and my management team have high expectations so sometimes players realise it is not for them and they move on.
“It has been nice not do that all again and not from start from scratch. We have been able to start with a good settled group of players with one or two new faces.
“It feels like we have been together for a long time, but I’ve also brought in players who I have worked with before and are quite close to me.
“Even thought we have had (the) covid (pandemic) the group has stayed as it is.
“It is a huge positive for the new season.
“Those eight or nine (competitive) games last season were spread quite apart because of covid.
“So it didn’t even feel we had a run of eight games.
“It was very stop-start, like it was for most teams.
“We did quite well in the FA Vase, but it felt like we never got started.
“Whereas now we have got the group and we’ve been training Thursdays and Saturday and we feel more of a unit.”
Hallam’s opening league fixture is the away trip to Nostell Miners Welfare on July 31st and Denton is pleased with pre-season training so far.
“We decided to train as an open turn up and play five-a-side session when the easing of lockdown restrictions started a couple of months ago,” he said.
“But we’ve been officially back for pre-season for about three weeks.
“The lads have really wanted to get on the astroturf and play football because of the lockdown so they have been raring to go and we’ve had some good turnouts.
“We have mixed things up as well as we have been down to a place on Ecclesfield Road in Sheffield called Trib3 which is an indoor fitness power work-out place.
“Its been great so far and it has been nice to get back going again.
“It is really important for mental health and whether you’re a volunteer, footballer, manager it has been great to get back to normality.”
The next step towards normality for everyone involved with Hallam is the club’s first pre-season friendly on the 6th July – the trip to face Hemsworth Miners Welfare on their new 3G surface.
Spectators are back and Denton is looking forward to his side’s friendlies.
“I’m not sure about percentages of capacities and what’s allowed, but I know fans are allowed to attend,” he said.
“All clubs definitely need fans through the door and I think clubs will get them as people have missed their football fix and I think they can’t wait to go and support their local Non League club.
“We will come up against a Sheffield United X1 which hopefully will bring a good crowd.
“We will also host Sheffield FC (on the 27th July) which again will be fantastic. They should be great.”
The Sheffield United X1 clash is on July 20th at Sandygate.
If you have enjoyed reading Non League Yorkshire over the past few months, please consider making a donation to the not-for-profit organisation NLY Community Sport which provides sport for children and adults with disabilities and learning difficulties. CLICK HERE to visit the JustGiving page. There is a video at the bottom of the page showing our work.
NLY Community Sport, run by James Grayson and Connor Rollinson, has always had combatting social isolation at the top of our objectives when running our Disability Football teams.
Our work is playing an important role in reintroducing our players, who have disabilities and learning difficulties, back into society.
We have six teams, a mixture of Junior and Adult teams – Nostell MW DFC, Pontefract Pirates, Selby Disability Football Club and the South Yorkshire Superheroes (Barnsley) – across Yorkshire.
We have enjoyed great success over the past three years. Several of our players have represented Mencap GB in Geneva, including Billy Hobson from Selby and Greg Smith, whose story is quite inspiring.
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