Lordswood will get their pre season campaign underway on Saturday against Holmesdale – and there will be plenty of new faces in action.

There will be a new man in the dugout at Martyn Grove, after old boss Richard Styles departed at the end of the season, taking over at Tonbridge Wells.

Taking the reigns will be former Chatham Town manager Darren Anslow. He’ll be joined by Rob Gillman and Owen Pryce, who has left Lewisham Borough to help Anslow.

Anslow had previously been working at Whitstable in the Isthmian League, following a short stay at Rochester. He is also still an academy coach at Bromley Town.

The new gaffer has wasted no time building his squad at Lordswood – adding 11 new faces to date. 

The recruitment began last week, with five new faces coming through the doors at the Chatham based side, going by the names of Harry Towner, Luke Medley, Jai McKinlay, Kristupas Burba, and Callum Edwards.

The club also announced the retainment of 19 year old midfielder Jake Creed from last season.

Towner, also a midfielder, joins the club and will play his trade alongside his work at Dover Athletic.

Luke Medley joins Anslow’s men with coaching experience; he was player manager at Greenwich-Borough last term. He also appeared for both Sheppey United and Croydon.

Jai McKinlay joins from AFC Croydon Athletic, and will aim to help protect the Lords’ net along with goalkeeper Kristupas Burba.

Callum Edwards has experience at both the Dover and Ashford academy, and will be aiming to stake his place in the midfield at Martyn Grove next season.

Following the announcement of the six, Lordswood added another five new faces on Tuesday.

18 year old striker Daniel Pepple also has experience at Croydon, and was promoted to their first team last season after an impressive record at under 18 level.

Former Bromley talents Klaudio Krasniqi and Rob Gillman will be fresh faces in the changing room, along with full back Sheriff-Deen Babatunde and ex Cray Wonderers star Pat Brennan.

The Lords will look to continue to add to their squad in the coming weeks, however chairman Terry Hussey is likely to be pleased with how the squad is shaping up. 

A new era is underway at Lordswood, and they will be hoping to improve on their 10th place finish from last season in this year’s Southern Counties East Premier League.