SCEFL Champions Deal Town have had the perfect preparations for their debut season in the Isthmian League winning eight out of eight in pre-season. 

But boss Steve King is only too well aware ahead of their historic game with Lancing next weekend that means nothing until 3pm on August 10, especially as Deal finish their preparations this weekend in the Extra Preliminary Round of the Emirates FA Cup when they welcome Roffey to the Charles Gound. 

“Pre-season has gone well,” King reflected with KSN this week, “Pre-season is always a necessary evil for managers, you must get through it! You are trying to get your players and your sides to where they need to be without picking up injuries and if you can win a few games on the way that helps.

“That said it is not always an indication of how things are going but we have won all eight of our friendlies scoring a lot of goals, we have played well, but it counts for nothing come Saturday.” 

“I do not mind playing in the Cup first this year. There is nothing like playing competitive games and any advantage we can get going into the Lancing game will help and I think that because we will have played a competitive game will help us a little bit going into that first League game.

“We want to progress in the FA Cup as since I have been at the Club, we have only ever had one “run” and that was eight years ago. It is a competition that we have not really had many big days out, so we really would like to progress, but I think it will also sharpen us up getting ready for the Lancing game. 

“We know as much as we can about Roffey, we have done our homework and been to watch them. They have already played two League games in the Sussex League, they have not won yet but they too got promoted last year, so will be full of confidence and really looking forward to it.

“It is hard to try and watch teams this early in the season, but we have given them full respect as we always do, but if we play to our levels, I believe that we will have a very good chance of progressing.” 

Looking beyond this weekend, King told us, “Going into the higher League for us it was the number of Kent derbies and the expectation of where they were going to be in the fixture list.

“Interestingly getting promoted into Step Four and we have a lot more local games than we had in SCEFL. We did not really have any “derbies” – Whitstable when they came down and then Faversham, but they were always considered Step Four clubs.

“In the nine years that I was in SCEFL we did not have the big local derbies regularly so to have the likes of Ramsgate, Margate, and Herne Bay home and away, Hythe, Ashford, Sittingbourne there are a lot of “big” games to highlight in the list and look forward to.” 

“We are pleased with what we have brought in alongside the side that played last year. We are very keen to maintain the squad that we have and give them the opportunity.

“Ultimately the way we built a side to win SCEFL was trying to build a side that we thought would do well at Step Four. So, when we brought players in, we had in our mind if they would cope at Step Four we felt that we had a squad capable of stepping up, so we were not then going to pull that apart.

“We have looked at a couple of areas that we thought we needed to strengthen, and I am pleased with the bodies that we have brought to the Club.

“We will obviously keep assessing it as we start the season and if we need to strengthen, we will, but I think the boys who did so well last year deserve the chance. I am happy with where we are at.”