Sterling certain Magpies will be better

Club captain Dominic Sterling is so determined to hold on to a regular starting place this season that he started his pre-season training back in May.

The 32-year-old is convinced Maidenhead United are on course for a top half finish this term - and says there will be no repeat of the poor home form that produced just two league wins at York Road last season.

“I don’t know why we were so poor at home,” he said. “But a lot of it was down to inconsistency and we have worked on that in pre-season.

“We didn’t have that desire last season, there wasn’t that sense that players would run through walls for each other. But you can
see already that things have improved on that front.”

Sterling prefers to take the positives from defeats against the likes of Wycombe Wanderers, Oxford United, Aldershot and Reading, rather than focusing on the results.

“We have played some very good sides and have played well but have been punished for mistakes. But that’s when you learn about the side and we’ve already been able to iron out some of the mistakes we’ve made in pre-season.

“I know we’ll be much better this season than we were last season. The players that have come in have added to what we have in every area. Manny Williams scored a lot of goals for us last season but Richard Pacquette is better at holding the ball up and that will really help us.

“We’ve got a stronger squad now and there are players who can play in more than one position. We’ve got more attributes and options as a squad than we did last year.”

Sterling feels the squad could even challenge for a play-off spot if things go well.

“I definitely think we are good enough to finish in the top eight. Drax has done a lot of work in pre-season – now we are a team, not a team of individuals like we were last season, and we’ve all got that team ethic. Players will work for each other more.

“The first target is to be in the top 10 then see where we are in January and push on from there. We underachieved last season. We should have done a lot better.

“It’s very important we get off to a good start, we were looking over our shoulders all last season.”

Sterling was impressed with the side’s fans last season. He said: “We had better attendances last year than we did the season before and that wasn’t down to the players.

“The club was marketed well last season and this time we are looking for the players to do their bit as well, then hopefully the attendances will go up even more.

“We’ve got a lot of good, young players who are good on the ball and we are looking to play good football as well as winning more games this season.”

And the central defender is determined to hold down a regular starting spot.

“For me it’s always been about playing. I’ve never been a bench player and I am still very competitive. I’ve had a good pre-season and I am definitely not going to be happy if I am watching games.”

Sterling sees Havant & Waterlooville as the team to beat this season in Blue Square South, but it’s about more than just doing well in the league for the club’s captain. “We are looking to go even further in the FA Cup this season - and we want to do well in all cup competitions.”