Players warned to expect gruelling pre-season schedule with more games and stronger opposition lined up

Determined to resolve the club’s long-running injury problems, manager Kevin Nolan has repeatedly spoken about the need for more ‘robustness’ in the squad, and one way of potentially achieving that is by ramping up the pre-season programme.

Chairman Kelvin Thomas says Town will face stronger opposition in preparation for the new season, and that’s already been underlined after the club announced they will head to Championship side Norwich City for a behind-closed-doors friendly on July 12th (1pm kick-off).

“We should be announcing a few of our pre-season fixtures over the next week or two and there’ll be some good games in there,” said Thomas. “I think we’ll have a couple of extra games compared to last year and we’ll probably face stronger opposition as well.

"Pre-season is a bit longer this year and hopefully we’ll be better prepared going into the season. It’ll come around quickly but I’ve spoken to Kevin about the desire to have some more robust players to make sure we’re prepared for the new season. That’s very important.”

Nolan’s own experiences as a player has shaped how he sees things as a manager when it comes to the importance of pre-season, and that means his players can expect to be put through their paces.

“It goes back to my second season back in the Premier League when I’d enjoyed the downtime a bit too much and didn’t come back in the right shape for pre-season,” explained Nolan to the Bolton News. “That ended up affecting me throughout the whole campaign.

"Pre-season is vital if you want to be the best version of yourself, and I wasn’t. I kept picking up silly little injuries, just niggles really, but they disrupted my rhythm and frustrated me.

“That experience has stuck with me, and it's why, as a coach now, I demand that players stay in top condition. The demands of the modern game are so high – physically and mentally – that you’ve got to be ready to go. A strong pre-season gives you the platform to perform, and that year taught me that preparation is everything. We need to make sure we are robust enough.”

Meanwhile, Thomas has also spoken about what happens next with the land next to Sixfields after plans to build a warehousing development took a step forward. A public consultation took place in the newly completed LCS East Stand last month, which gave residents, supporters and stakeholders the chance to view proposals, speak to the project team, and provide feedback.

The proposed scheme covers a 19-acre site adjacent to the stadium and forms part of the wider Sixfields development plan announced in 2021. The club are working with architects PRC on the proposal, which focuses on creating a ‘highly sustainable’ industrial warehouse development in line with West Northamptonshire Council’s (WNC) local plan.

"We’re hoping to put planning in very soon – potentially this week,” said Thomas. “I think it’s been very well received. There’s been a significant change in the council in terms of leadership but everyone who saw the planning documents was impressed.

"We went with the sensible approach and we engaged with all the stakeholders. When you look at an overall map of the area, it fits in well so hopefully that’ll be pretty straightforward because the work has been put in and it’ll benefit the football club, which is what we’ve always said.”