Fakenham Town will be a competitive football unit in the coming season. With encouraging numbers attending training sessions at Clipbush Park and players signing for both Ridgeons League and Anglian Combination, the management team should see a healthy competition for places.

Fakenham Town will be a competitive football unit in the coming season.

With encouraging numbers attending training sessions at Clipbush Park and players signing for both Ridgeons League and Anglian Combination, the management team should see a healthy competition for places.

“Competition for places is paramount,” said joint first team manager Mark King. “In the coming season we think we should be able to compete with almost any team in the Ridgeons Division One, whereas last season we were always playing catch-up.”

He, fellow first team boss Stuart Woodhouse and new Fakenham Reserves manager Asa Saunders have been analysing the tail end of last season, when the Ridgeons side hit form after a disastrous start, and the current situation.

“It's going nicely,” said King. “One very good thing is that we must have 21 or 22 players who have signed Ridgeons League forms whereas last season we had 13 or 14. And they have signed for the Anglian Combination.”

This is in stark contrast to this time last year when only a handful of players turned up for the first training session and new managers had to be found in the run-up to the start of the season.

Today, Fakenham host two teams from a touring side from Blackpool, the U16s kicking off at 2pm and the main squad at 4pm. Tuesday sees King's Lynn at Clipbush Park 7.45pm, followed by Sheringham on July 29 (7.30pm).

t Wroxham kick off the first of a series of pre-season friendlies at home to Cheshunt (today, 3pm) when manager Damian Hilton will be running the rule over a number of new faces.