Another season of progression ahead for St Francis Rangers

Having reformed in the summer of 2019, The Saints have already made significant strides, finishing fifth in their inaugural SCFL Division 2campaign, before lockdown bought the season to a premature conclusion.

With the club rebuild well underway, this season will provide another opportunity for The Saints to showcase their ability to compete in the league, using a combination of promising young talent and experienced heads.

Although disappointed with their opening day result, manager Del Tobias was keen to reflect on the positives from his team’s performance last weekend.

He said “We had a positive pre season, pitting ourselves against some high quality opponents in preparation for the tough league season that lies ahead. I thought the work rate and effort from everyone involved last weekend was fantastic, albeit without the clinical composure that was required in front of goal, and we need to improve that if we want to compete at the top end of this league”.

Having faced an experienced and well drilled Copthorne side in their first game, Rangers welcome Littlehampton United to The Colwell Ground for a 3pm kick off this Saturday.

On facing Dan Lawrence’s side, Tobias said “They’re a team who are very well organised and will provide another physical test, alongside their creativity, which they showed in their first game with three well taken goals. It’s another great test to see where we are as a team, and we’ll be looking for a positive reaction to this challenge”.

With both teams suffering defeats in their opening games, The Saints manager made it clear that his side will need to start turning positive performances into positive results as quickly as possible.

He said “We’re looking to bounce back from last weekend as quickly as possible, momentum in this league is so important but we’re also under no illusions as to how difficult it is to get out of this league, that’s why consistency will be key”.

There are no fresh injury concerns for the Hayward’s Heath based side for this weekend, with the luxury of a fully fit squad to choose from following on from last weekend.