Wilkin hopes Brackley can build on their good start

Kevin Wilkin was satisfied with a solid start from his Brackley Town team ahead of two tough-looking away matches. Picture by Glenn Alcock

And boss Kevin Wilkin is hoping his players can build on that as they head into two tough-looking matches on the road.

Callum Stead and former Chesterfield man George Carline were on target on their league debuts for the Saints as last season’s runners-up beat newly-promoted Scarborough Athletic 2-0 at St James Park on the opening day of the campaign in a game that saw Glenn Walker make his 400th appearance for the club.

Brackley are now faced with a trip to Chester on Saturday, which is swiftly followed by another away game at King’s Lynn Town, who were relegated from the National League last season, next Tuesday night.

“You always want to get those first points on the board as quickly as possible and that’s what we have done, so we are happy with that,” Wilkin said.

“It was a solid start and we will try to build on that at the weekend.

“Chester is never an easy place to go to and the next two games are what you’d expect from the level, two very tough matches.

“We aren’t under illusions about how difficult it will be on Saturday.”

Brackley included no fewer than four debutants in their starting XI last weekend after a bigger turnaround in players than normal over the summer.

Carline, former Coventry City midfielder Reece Massey, ex-Northampton Town defender Josh Flanagan and former Hitchin Town man Ciaren Jones were all added to the squad late last week.

And, with a new-look squad on show, Wilkin believes it will take a bit of time for his team to settle down.

“We have lost a lot of players and what you would deem to be frontline players as opposed to squad players,” the Saints boss added.

“I think there were four debutants in the team on Saturday and, obviously, that’s going to take a little while to settle down.

“We are always searching for that bit of cohesion and the understanding of one another and that’s something we will work on in the couple of sessions this week.

“But it’s always nice to do that off the back of a victory.”

A youthful Saints side, meanwhile, lost 3-1 at Corby Town in the first round of the NFA Hillier Senior Cup last night (Wednesday).