As the new campaign creeps ever closer, Neil Aspin is looking forward to having the players back in training on the 28th June before pre-season friendlies get under way at Redditch United on Friday 6th July.

The Valiants will play seven matches across the month of July before the 2018/19 season kicks off in August, and with eight new players already making the move to Vale Park, the gaffer is prepared for his first summer at the club.

He said: "As a manager you don't really get a break in pre-season, but it's positive to have new faces at the club and new people to work with. It is good for the other players as well to integrate with them and things will be different in the dressing room and in training.

"It gives everyone a bit of a boost because you always want to try and impress your colleagues, so having the turnover of players should be a good thing for us. If i was manager here for a long time, ideally you would like to bring a few less in each year for some continuity, but that hasn't happened over the last few years."

On the plans for pre-season, he added: "The players come back knowing what to expect, but we have to set out some rules from the start that we want implemented to keep discipline.

"They have to enjoy coming to training though and I think that is key. You have to develop a team spirit, but they are here to do a job and the holidays are over - it is back to work and time to be ready to get into shape for the upcoming season. 

"We must be better than we were last season, but in any game, you want to get off to a good start. Being at home for our first league game, you want to create a feel good factor and it is important we open well."