Hartshill FC start their 2009-10 Coventry Alliance campaign this weekend with a home game for the reserves at Hartshill Rec.
Derek Dunnachie will again be leading the second string as they look to improve on previous seasons by gaining promotion from Division Five.
They begin their fixtures against Shilton and Dunnachie and the new look back room staff are seeking a strong start to what will be an important 12 months for the club.
With the first team looking for their fourth straight promotion which would take them to Division One in the ladder, Dunnachie is well aware of how important it is not to allow the gap between the two sides within the club to grow any further.
“Obviously the main priority is for the first team to get promoted,” he said.
“It has always been the ambition of the club to climb into the Premier Division as quickly as possible and so far that plan has gone well with promotion each season.
“However, we cannot afford for that to happen again without the reserves following suit, that is why we have added bodies behind the scenes as well as on the field.
“Ian Ford comes in as my assistant and James Thomason will also be helping out on match days and adding his experience to things.
“It all bodes well because it would create a bit of a problem for us if there were four divisions between the two sides in the club, it would be too big a jump for reserve team players to make when they get called to the first team.
“That is why we have to do everything in our power to gain promotion from this division this time around.”
Derek Dunnachie prepares his first team talk of the season!
Although last seasons fifth place was not an improvement statistically on the previous year’s fourth place, Dunnachie feels the club is in a much better position to be able to challenge for honours this time around than ever before.
“We ended the season really strong last time around and the standard of players in the club is now higher than it was a year ago,” he explained.
“At the start of last season things were really difficult for us and we suffered several heavy defeats as players came and went.
“Eventually though we found our feet and produced some good results in tandem with some cracking performances and finished the season on a real high.
“We are much better equipped now and we are really looking forward to mounting a challenge towards the top of the table.”
The reserves game against Shilton kicks off at 2.15pm on Saturday 29 August.
The first team do not play on the opening day.
