The club will kick-off their Conference Premier campaign against Chester at The Hive before traveling away to Tamworth and Gateshead, it is safe to say they are happy to get the latter out of the way!
They also pinpointed the festive doubleheader against Luton Town on Boxing Day (h) and New Year’s Day (a) as games they are looking forward too.
Read on to hear their thoughts on the new season from the back with Graham Stack to the front With Harry Crawford…
Graham Stack: “Chester City will of course be great, we are opening the new stadium and a lot of history will be made there so let’s hope we get off to a good start. The Boxing Day and New Year’s Day games against Luton Town obviously stand out, the fact we are playing such a big team is great and it will be a cracking atmosphere. Both teams will be in the mix at the end of the season. Lincoln City is a tough game to end with and it is not that local but let’s hope we have already won promotion by then!”
Anthony Acheampong: “The game against Welling United is of course a big one for me and it comes up quite early. It will be good to go back to my old club and see my old team mates but at the moment I am fully focussed on getting three points in the opening match against Chester. It is key we put points on the board quickly and we will go into every game looking to win. I am also looking forward what will be two massive games against Luton Town, the atmosphere will be great and even though they know the league better we will adapt and be ready to take them on. My close friend Andre Gray also plays for them up front so that will be a great battle, six points out of six against them in one week would be fantastic. Promotion is the aim and hopefully it will be secured by the time we face Lincoln on the final day but if we go there needing points we are fully capable of doing that.”
Mark Byrne: “I always look out for the games against the big teams in the division and the ones that will be doing well like Luton Town and Wrexham. I also looked out for Cambridge United which falls on the 16th November and the 29th March because a good friend of mine, Richard Tate, plays for them. The final game against Lincoln City is another big one but hopefully we will have won the league or confirmed a play-off spot by then!”
Luke Gambin: “It’s great that we are starting the season at home in a new stadium. Hopefully we can get a win and give the fans something to cheer about; three points would help us really set the pace. We then of course have two games away from home against Tamworth and Gateshead and although the second is a long way away it will be good for us to get used to that environment because I have never been to a Conference stadium. You also have to mention the games against Luton Town, they are a big club with a big history and it will be great to get some points off of them. We are even more excited now the fixtures are out!”
Jon Nurse: “I am really looking forward to Chester, it is a great way to start the season. They have just come up and we have just come down, plus we are at home so it is a winnable one. Two away games to follow will be tough but it will help us adapt to the league and it gets Gateshead out of the way while we are all still fresh. All of the boys and everybody at the club is delighted by the Boxing Day clash against Luton Town, they are a big club and the atmosphere will be electric. We of course play them again within a week and two wins against them would make it a very happy Christmas!”
Harry Crawford: “The Dartford fixture definitely caught my eye because I was there last season but I was most excited about who we had first. We have a new stadium and it is important to make it winning stadium, we have to hit the ground running and I believe we will. I have played in the division before and it is very competitive and very physical but we have a good team and I will do my best during pre-season to make sure the forward position my own. I was also at Luton Town a couple of years back in pre-season and it is a big club so it would be great to get six points off them. It will be a difficult period but every game in the division will be tough.”
