We sat down with Hawks Women First Team boss, Steve Marsh, to catch-up ahead of the start of their Southern Region Women’s Football League Division One South campaign. Steve spoke on Pre-Season, his squad and the focus on the start of the campaign at home to Farnham Town

How do you feel Pre-Season has gone overall?

“Pre-Season is always a time to get those minutes in the legs, avoid any major injuries, work on our structure and integrate new players which we have managed to do. The pleasing thing to see is how the squad has improved during each game which is good preparation as we move towards the start of our league campaign.”

How is the squad looking ahead of the start of the Season?

“We as a coaching team are very pleased with how the squad is looking as we progress towards the start of the season. We have recruited well during the summer, adding a blend of quality and experience to the existing talent we already had at the club. The chemistry in the squad is fantastic, there’s a real sense of belief in the group and we’re excited to get going.”

How have the new signings settled into the squad?

“What’s been most encouraging is how well the new signings have connected with the existing group. You can see the real sense of unity developing and they’ve embraced the culture we’ve built at the club.
They have adapted to our style of play and brought a great energy to the squad and have integrated seamlessly both on and off the pitch. Their experience and quality is already clear to see and they’ve raised the level of competition within the squad.”

Our first opponents are newly promoted Farnham Town, how has the preparation been for this?

“Farnham had a great season last year and will be wanting to make a statement from the start. Our preparation will be the same as for every game, the squads in a good place and we will approach the game with the right mindset. Pre-Season has given us a solid foundation and we’ve used the past week to fine tune our approach for Farnham as we focus on starting strong and setting the tone for the season ahead.”