​Brakes good to go ahead of new season

​Brakes go to Buxton for the opening game this weekend, having been promoted from the SPL Premier Central last season.

And assessing how pre-season has gone, boss Holleran says he’s been pleased with the club’s progress but that he is aware of what a big jump it can be between step three and step two of the pyramid.

He said: “I’m pleased with the way pre pre-season has gone. I’m pleased with our recruitment. From where we are and what we’ve got on the pitch it’s been good. We could do with a little bit more here and there but we’ll see how we get on.

"We’re just about to embark on what is a really tough league. I think it’ll be tougher than it was last year because one or two clubs had a bit of an off year, but we look forward to the challenge.

“We’ve shown enough in pre pre-season to be able to cope with that, and we’ve shown enough to make me think that we will cause teams problems. It’s a great opportunity for some of the young players at the club to play in the National League, and they’ve got to go up against their opposite number and compete.

“It’s one of the biggest steps up in football, I think. We haven’t quite got everything I’d like, but we’ve got most of it. We’ve gone young, for reasons, and some of the players that did so well for us last year deserve an opportunity to play in that division. I just hope we go in there and have a good go at it. We’ve got quite a few players around the place who have pace and can score goals, so I'm just hoping we can do that.

“We’re looking forward to it. It will be tough. Last year was just immense. Probably with everything that was going on in my life it was difficult to enjoy the day, but I knew what was coming, but when I look back and reflect it was amazing really.

"The run the players went on in the second half of the season, they overachieved really, but we did it, and now we’ve had to get ready for step two again, but we’re looking forward to it, and it’s a great opportunity for some of these young boys. If you can go and play well in that league, who knows where it could take you?’