Home   Ashford   Sport   Article

Ashford United keeping the identity of their trialists a secret

Ashford United are looking at three mystery men in the hope of adding star quality to their squad.

Manager Gary Alexander wouldn't reveal the names of the trialists who took part in Saturday's pre-season friendly against Bromley.

The National League side won 5-1 at Homelands and Alexander was playing his cards close to his chest after the game.

Dean Grant scores for Ashford against Bromley Picture: Paul Amos
Dean Grant scores for Ashford against Bromley Picture: Paul Amos

"There's a couple of trialists in there," he said. "I'd rather keep them under wraps because I don't want people to know they're available.

"A couple played on Saturday and one was missing but they're wanted by teams higher up. A couple are training with teams higher and we'll see what happens from here.

"If they don't come, we'll have to look elsewhere.

"But we're in a good place at the moment so I don't really want to give names away of the trialists."

Dean Grant scored Ashford's goal on Saturday and new signing Sam Mott impressed in goal.

Alexander said: "It was always going to be tough but it was a good workout.

"We had a few people missing so we had a small squad with a few youngsters in it.

"That made it difficult because Bromley had two teams but it wasn't a problem. Having to work hard in that heat was good for the boys.

"Obviously you don't want to lose any football match but we played some good stuff when were thin on the ground."

Ashford, who played Leatherhead on Tuesday night (edit), host Barking on Saturday before visiting Chatham on Tuesday.

Alexander said: "The first few games are about getting our match fitness up. As bodies tire, things become more difficult so if we can get them to a standard where they're able to play for longer, hopefully their mentality and concentration can be better during the game.

"We've had a lot of changes and it's always nice when you get out on the pitch and they can show what they're capable of.

"We know what they're capable of and they're a good bunch of lads so it shouldn't take too long to gel.

"Hopefully we can stay in the games for longer periods. We died off a little bit on Saturday, having seen them score three goals in the last five or six minutes.

"We've got a month until the season starts and we'll start working on things ready for August 11."

Close This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies.Learn More