FC Halifax Town wrap up their home pre-season campaign with their toughest test against Blue Square Premier side Grimsby Town this Saturday.
The Mariners are only the fourth club to compete in all five top divisions of English football after suffering relegation from the Football League for the first time in nearly 100 years last season, which saw them embark on an infamous club record 25-match run without a win in the process.
Manager Neil Woods came close to keeping the club up after a brave battle to survive in what is his first managerial job. The club won four and drew one of their last six games last season, but defeat at Burton Albion consigned them to the drop.
However, they are 3rd favourites to bounce straight back from League Two, and some impressive pre-season results would seem to justify such expectations.
The likes of Sheffield Wednesday and Lincoln City have been defeated so far, along with Brigg Town, Frickley Athletic, Winterton Rangers and Barton Town. The Lincolnshire outfit have also drawn with Scunthorpe United and Gainsborough Trinity and lost to Boston United and Stirling Albion, but this is their final warm-up game ahead of their new campaign.
There has been a major turnover of players during the summer, with star player Peter Sweeney moving to Bury as well as Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro and Joe Widdowson both switching to Rochdale and another nine players exiting Blundell Park.
Their most notable signings have been strikers Michael Coulson and Alan Connell from Barnsley and Bournemouth respectively and goalkeeper Kenny Arthur from Rochdale, along with eight other new faces.
There is one familiar face in their squad though, as defender Rob Atkinson scored twice during his four game spell on loan at The Shay during the 2006/07 season.
Town have experienced a similarly productive transfer window so far, with Neil Aspin's revamped squad currently undefeated during pre-season after a win against Brighouse Town and three creditable draws with Hyde FC, Droylsden and Gateshead.
Aspin will hope to have Scott Phelan and Jamie Vardy back in contention after injury, but Danny Lowe, Nathan Taylor and James Dean remain longer term casualties.
Kick-off at The Shay is 3.00pm, but if you can't make it to the match, the official FC Halifax Town website will be providing regular updates on all the action throughout the afternoon.
Tom Scargill
