With two weeks to go until Kidlington FC play their first fixture in the Evo-Stik League Southern Division Central, our club press officer spoke to manager Martin Wilkinson to find out how pre-season plans were progressing? Questioned on the make up of the squad following a number of publicized departures Wilkinson commented:

“I think we have a very good squad but it has been a challenging summer made much more difficult because a number of player and staff chose to leave the club. Overall, we’ve lost six 1st team players and one member of staff. 2 players have retired through injury (Jimmy Deabill and Henry Owen) and 4 players and one member of staff chose to commit to other clubs at step 4, which is disappointing. However, I am not one to look back and I am delighted with the signings we’ve made and you can rest assured that we will have a very capable squad going forward. We have 3 ambitious and hungry strikers in Kristian Thomas, Jack Dunmall and Louis Joyce, a midfield that has technical ability and energy throughout including last years Hellenic player of the year Lewis Coyle, a defense made up of all the players who were the most successful defense in the Hellenic Premier League last season including goal keeper Sam Warrell and skipper Tom Franklin. It is football at this level, players and staff leave clubs and I wish all those who have departed the very best in the future. My job is to replace them and I will.”

Following a number of pre-season games, Wilkinson was asked for his thoughts on what he had seen so far:

“We’ve played a Swindon Town XI, Shortwood United, Brackley Town Saints and Flackwell Heath and all fixtures have been excellent. All the games have tested us in the manner expected and they have been essential towards identifying our strengths and weaknesses. I am confident we have a clear picture of what needs to be improved upon and we are working hard to address those areas. I am confident that we will be in a good place come the start of the season.”

Following the rumour of a staff appointment, Wilkinson commented:

“I thought it was important to strengthen off the pitch and I think we have done that in the appointment of Dan Barry who comes on board in a coaching capacity. Dan was most recently manager of Wantage Town and after speaking with him over the phone, I had no doubt he was the right man for the job. Dan returns to the game with a renewed energy and has ambition to succeed at Kidlington FC and I am absolutely delighted we have secured his services. With Jermaine McSporran accepting the assistant manager role alongside Paul Harwood as coach, I think we are in a good place off the pitch as well.”

In final comments Wilkinson added:

“We’ve come a long way as a club in a relatively short period of time and there is still a considerable way to go in my opinion before we can compete on equal terms both on and off the pitch with the best local clubs in our region but that is the challenge. We need supporters and volunteers to dig as deep as the players and staff for each and every fixture this season and if we can all do that, who knows what the future may bring. I am sure of one thing only and that is, Kidlington FC has a very bright future and I am delighted to remain a part of building that future.”