THE summer has been no holiday for Royal Wootton Bassett Town manager Sam Collier as he gears his troops towards the opening weekend of the Hellenic League Premier Division season.

After taking over from Rich Hunter on a temporary basis at the back end of last season, Collier was installed in the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground hotseat on a permanent basis over the summer.

His appointment sparked a huge overhaul in players, as the Bassett boss looks to put his club back on track.

“Pre-season has been a very busy and hard time for me working non-stop trying to attract the right players for the club and I think we are nearly there,” he said.

“I am hoping to add a few more before the season starts however, we had a slow start to pre-season with some high scoring game with Clanfield and being beaten by a decent Westbury side.

“One thing we addressed which was a concern was fitness therefore we have worked the lads hard in training and hoping to see the rewards.

“We want to be a lot harder to beat and that means being fitter and stronger.

“We are now looking forward to the season ahead and plan to give it a right go. Most people will see us as a lesser side around Swindon however I am more than happy with that.”

After the overhaul of players during the summer, Collier says there are a few players he is looking forward to seeing in the club’s colours next season.

“Brad Pagliaroli is one, he’s a winger striker from Binfield,” he added.

“Brad’s a great signing for us, quick, strong with great feet and a good eye for goal.

“He has come with Iggy Llott, a midfielder from Newbury, who has tonnes of energy and will play a big part for us.

“Matty Bennett who has been a good friend of mine has agreed to sign and has been the star of pre-season, 31 and still looks sharp and caused a strong Swindon marine side lots of problems.

“We’ve also brought in Defender Jack Stanley, from Carterton, Thatcham’s Danny Laahez and Tyler Sheppard from Shrivenham.”