Results don’t matter for Bognor Regis Town boss – at least not yet
Danny Hollands will focus on the application of his players rather than the result when Bognor Regis Town go to Southern League Premier South outfit Sholing in a pre-season friendly on Saturday.
Rocks boss Hollands saw his side ease past Hamble Club with a 4-1 victory last week at Nyewood Lane thanks to Cal Laycock's strike and three goals from trialists — but the gaffer knows the visit to the Mortgage Decisions Stadium will prove a tougher test.
That said, the former Pompey midfielder says there are plenty of opportunities for his squad to learn valuable lessons agains the step three opponents.
Speaking to the club's Youtube channel, he said: "Pre-season is not about results, it’s about building blocks and making sure week to week, game to game that we are better; because the end goal is that we are ready come the start of the season. It’s another positive result and performance and the main thing is that we move again for next week.
"Nothing will change tactically against Sholing. It's all about us. The idea of playing teams that are higher than us is that out of possession if we can deal with things and their threats when we are playing higher level teams, then you would like to think that when we come to league action, and FA Cup, then we should be more than equipped to deal with their threats as well."
His comments come with the news that Bognor have appointed Dave Topliss as head of scouting and recruitment.
And the experienced player-spotter, who has just left a role at Pompey, says he is excited by the prospect of working with Hollands.
He said: “I’m really looking forward to working with Danny, Ben Kneller and Dave Jordan this coming season, and hopefully my scouting assessments of the opposition will help them.
“I feel the club have a good management team in place for the coming season and hopefully they will bring some success this season.
“Although I will not be at the club in person as I will be on the road, I would like to say that the great fans at Nyewood Lane are one of the reasons I wanted to join the club.”
Meanwhile, the Rocks got s sponsorship boost this week when Reynolds renewed the deal to back the club in the shape of an extension to sponsorship of the main stand. A club spokesman said: "Reynolds have been a magnificent help to us over the years and once again their continued support is very much appreciated.”