Haverhill Borough manager Harry Zachariou pleased with turn out for pre-season training

There was an extra spring in the step of Haverhill Borough manager Harry Zachariou following the first pre-season training session of the summer earlier this week.

In terms of results, the 2024/25 campaign was a tough one for Borough as a side made up of youngsters - many of whom were under the age of 18 - finished third from bottom in the Thurlow Nunn League First Division North.

As expected, the club received a reprieve from relegation, and Zachariou had made clear of his desire to add some experience heads to his squad for the upcoming campaign.

And while no new signings have been made as of yet, Zachariou was delighted to see a large number of new faces attending Tuesday’s session.

He said: “It’s full steam ahead. We had 26 boys turn up for training on Tuesday and 14 of them I’d never seen before.

“The quality was so good. A lot of the boys have played at a higher level than what we’re playing at, so that’s really encouraging.

“Of course it doesn’t mean anything at the moment because nobody has signed, but it’s a real positive that so many players are keen to have a look at us.

“The gulf from the first training session 12 months ago to this one was big. It gives us a decent amount of hope.”

And Zachariou was also impressed with how the young members of the group acquitted themselves.

He added: “They looked really powerful, much stronger. They helped to raise the level of the session with those experienced lads.

“Many of them have now got more than 30 games at Step 6 under their belts and they’ve grown because of it.

“And they’re not just growing in a football sense, they’re also growing physically. They’ve got a lot more strength now.

“What we need to do is make sure we add the right experience around them to act as leaders. It’s not that we were a quiet side last season, but there’s no substitute for having a bit of know-how.”

Zachariou has also confirmed that Derek Richardson has come in as his assistant, while Rob Barton will be the first-team coach alongside his role as a physio.

“We’re going to have a good little team in the dugout,” he said. “There’s plenty of experience among the three of us to help the boys to continue to improve.”