Hinshelwood hints at transfers as new season approaches

Worthing boss Adam Hinshelwood has revealed that the busy pre-season schedule is to give younger players 'more minutes on the pitch' as his side prepare for the upcoming season in the Bostik Premier Division.
Worthing manager Adam Hinshelwood. Picture by Steve Robards.Worthing manager Adam Hinshelwood. Picture by Steve Robards.
Worthing manager Adam Hinshelwood. Picture by Steve Robards.

Hinshelwood knows that he will have a 'small squad' at his disposal for the season, so a busy pre-season gives everybody the best chance of success. The younger players in and around the squad will be given the opportunity to impress and the Worthing manager is confident that they can step up.

He said: "The reasoning behind (the busy pre-season schedule) is so that we can give the younger players more minutes on the pitch, hoping that then they'll be a lot more ready to assert themselves for a place in the first team squad.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"It will be quite a small squad, but if you add the young players that we believe in then we should have enough to fill two sides going into a lot of the fixtures. That's the reason behind having such a busy fixture list."

Joining the small squad will be a new goalkeeper after fan-favourite Lucas Covolan agreed a deal with Torquay United of the National League, and Hinshelwood is confident that a replacement goalkeeper will be sealed very soon.

He said: "We are pretty much agreed with a club about a 'keeper coming to us on loan, so that is just a case of getting that all finalised. Something will be put out there, I'm sure, within the next week or so.

Discussing other possible signings, Hinshelwood continued: "We have a couple more that we're going to have a look at, who have been in with some sessions already, that are going to join the group very soon. It'll be interesting to see how they get on and if they do well then we will be looking to add them to our squad.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"But with the good crop of young players that we've got, we're not looking for too many more to be honest. The goalkeeper is pretty much agreed and we have a couple of trialists, then we'll just be working with the younger players that we've got at our disposal."

Manager Hinshelwood admitted that pre-season is not about results but 'fitness and health' as his side prepare for a season that he hopes shows 'progression'.

He said: "It's about fitness and getting a clean bill of health, as well as getting the new players used to the way we want to play. I've been in pre-season before where we've gone in, lost every single pre-season game and then started the season really well.

"And vice versa, we've won every game of pre-season and think you're crushing it and then you come to the first few games of the season and you go on a bit of a losing run, so it's all about getting minutes into the legs of the players and coming out of pre-season with a clean bill of health."

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He continued: "Progression was definitely there last season and we'll be looking for the same again. To be in the top ten, to finish as the top Sussex side in the league, they're the two things that we'll set about. If we finish seventh and see progression, winning more games than last year, in my eyes it's about that at the moment."