Knaresborough play their first ever match in the Northern Counties East Premier League when we travel to face Albion Sports this weekend.
We were promoted from Division One as champions after a fantastic season when when finished with exactly 100 points to finish 12 points clear of second placed Yorkshire Amateur.
We have had a good pre-season with excellent wins against Northallerton and Pickering, and were defeated by strong outfits ,Harrogate Town and North Shields.
We were rocked by the news that Assistant Manager, Paul Clayton was stepping down due to work commitments but are sure Gregg Anderson who has stepped into his role and Colin Colin who will be Player Coach will be more than adequate replacements. Manager, Paul Stansfield remains in charge and is sure to get his team fired up every week for the tough challenges the team will face week in week out. The vast majority of last season's title winning squad remain and we have added quality in a number of positions. New signings Lawrence Hunter, Rob Worrall, Liam Corbett and Dan Coupland have added competition for places and strengthen a squad which remains strong.
Albion Sports finished last season in a respectable 14th place and are an established member of the Premier Division and will be sure to be a stern test in opening match of the season. Their top scorer last season was Daniel Facey who scored 26 goals in all competitions.
It would be great to get a big following at tomorrow to get behind the team and hopefully see us come away with our first three points of the season.