There's a buzz about Hornets as new Isthmian League season starts

The Hornets squad has seen major changes over the summer, with five departures and nine new arrivals.

Most of the new faces can exepct to be involved when the team make the trip to Leatherhead to get their Isthmian premier campaign under way.

Di Paola expects a highly competitive league this season and says he needs to be six or eight games into it before he can judge how Horsham are faring.

The Hornets were in the top six for almost all the truncated 2019-20 season and, having added the likes of JJ O’Sullivan, David Ray, Lewis Taylor, Doug Tuck and Tom Day to the ranks, they will be hopeful of another strong showing.

They ended their programme of nine pre-season friendlies with home defeats to National South sides Dartford (1-3) and Dorking (1-0) and the manager was pleased to see them compete well.

He told the County Times: “It’s nice to be looking forward to a league game. It’s probably the longest period without competitive football the players will ever have had.

“The games come thick and fast and it will take a little while for us to find out just how ready we are.

“We finished pre-season by playing two sides who will be contenders in their league and we were competitive in both. We’ve played a lot of friendlies and I think that’s helped us get a few niggly injuries out of our system and it’s given us time to look at trialists and then whittle down who we have.”

After all the ins and outs Di Paola is working with a squad of 18 and he feels that number will be needed in a hectic programme of games.

He will start without injured players including Charlie Coppola, a new recruit from Lewes, and veteran defender Gary Charman.

And he expects Leatherhead to be difficult opponents. “They were on the march for the play-offs when last season ended.”

In the FA Cup on Tuesday, Kingstonian, who Da Paola says could be favourites to win Horsham’s league, visit for a first qualifying round tie.