Hornets boss sets sights high - but key man departs

Horsham have begun their preparations for the forthcoming season, with boss Dominic Di Paola aiming for a top-half finish.
George Bentley is among players back on board for the new season / Picture: Steve RobardsGeorge Bentley is among players back on board for the new season / Picture: Steve Robards
George Bentley is among players back on board for the new season / Picture: Steve Robards

In a season which was cut short by the coronavirus pandemic, the Hornets finished sixth in the 2019-20 Isthmian League Premier Division.

Di Paola, who oversaw the club’s return to pre-season training on Tuesday, admitted it would be hard to replicate that feat but said he hoped his side could ‘be competitive and play a decent brand of football’.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He said: “The objectives are the same as last season. We don’t want to be involved in any relegation fights. We want to be one of those top-half teams that are comfortable. It’s going to be hard to beat what we did last year so we just have to do as well as we can.”

Di Paola said the majority of the first team squad had returned to training, with a number of trialists joining the first session back.

“We had lots of numbers at the first session,” he said. "Over the next few sessions, we will look to whittle that down quite quickly so we can keep quality. With the season starting so late, it means we’ve got everyone available.

“It’s early days and we’ve got to manage the squad. There’s players who haven’t played for five months, so there’s a lot of rustiness there but they are working hard. There’s probably rustiness from us as a management team as well, so we need to get back to the swing of things... it was nice to be back with everyone.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The Horsham boss revealed that defenders Joe Shelley and Steve Metcalf had both stayed on, in addition to many of the 2019-20 squad who had already committed for another season, with new signings set to follow.

However, Hornets’ central midfielder Lea Dawson, who Di Paola described as ‘one of our best players last year’, has moved on to VCD Athletic in the Isthmian South East Division.

Di Paola said: “He received an offer that we couldn’t get anywhere near. He was brilliant for us and hopefully we will see him back at Horsham in the future.

“The boys liked him and the supporters appreciated the way he played. We really like Lea and wish him all the best. We’ve got some plans for some more [signings], we’re just in the process of getting things agreed and paperwork done.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“We just need to get them over the line. We’re pretty much there or thereabouts, give or take the odd one or two. We’re pretty much set to go.”

The Isthmian League plans to begin on September 19.

An extensive programme of warm-up games for Horsham will include fixtures against Dorking, Met Police and Harrow.

Related topics: