Well, the football season is almost back with us and the pre season fixtures get underway.

Tomorrow sees the Saddlers off to Rotherham (although, of course, they are have joined the ranks of the teams that don’t play in the town or Borough they were named after), while Tuesday sees the “big one” with the visit of the newly promoted Dingles to the Banks’s Stadium.

Personally, I don’t really take any notice of results in pre season games, as I think they are more about how well players gel together and how the team is building prior to the new season and, with all of the close season changes, that’s likely to be more true than ever. What is needed, however, is a morale boost for a pretty dispirited supporter base, with the departures of Gerrard and Ibehre and declining gates. I also suspect that that will become even more important when the real thing starts, as a poor start is the last this we will need in the circumstances. Hutchings and O’Connor’s signings have, generally, been good, which is one big positive.

Sam Parkin yesterday became the latest addition to the squad, but there will be a question as to whether he’ll be fit enough to play in either game, given his injury record over the last couple of years. Lewis Gobern will almost certainly get his chance, however, as we need to make a decision on whether to offer him a contract. That means a likely line up of:

Ince, Weston, Smith, Hughes, Sansara, Gobern, Mattis, Bradley, Jones, Parkin, Deeney.

I would expect O’Keefe and Taundry both to get early run outs, however, as midfield is where Hutchings has the most choices to make and needs to find the correct blend as quickly as possible. There is, of course, always the chance that we’ll see more trialists as well!

Tuesday will also see the start of a big recruitment drive by the Trust, when you’ll get a chance to join for the £10 fee, including a complimentary copy of “Walsall Til I Die”, so don’t forget to bring some extra cash along!