Maidenhead United players raring to return in front of York Road faithful

Maidenhead United are ‘chomping at the bit’ to hear the roar of the York Road faithful after a long four months without competitive football.

The Magpies kick off their eighth consecutive season in the National League at home to Eastleigh and there are plenty of reasons for supporters to be optimistic.

The summer sale of former Magpie Max Kilman from Wolverhampton Wanderers to West Ham United has cemented the club’s financial future in a deal chairman Peter Griffin described as ‘phenomenal’.

Key figures from the club’s 2023/24 campaign, including bright young talents Reece Smith and Casey Pettit, have also been retained to hand Alan Devonshire a competitive-looking playing squad.

The long-serving Magpies boss has been keen to playdown the importance of pre-season results.

But an unbeaten run, which included victory over League Two side AFC Wimbledon, points to a good foundation to build a season upon.

On the eve of the 2024/25 campaign and the visit of Eastleigh to York Road on Saturday, assistant boss Ryan Peters was in a positive mood.

He told the Advertiser: “We’re never really looking at the result but winning is winning and it breeds a good mentality.

“All we’re looking at in pre-season is making sure our loads are right and we’re performing well which gives us the best possible chance of success when the season starts.

“We wanted to make sure we came through pre-season unscathed without too many injuries. We’ve got a few niggles but nothing to really worry about.

“It’s put us in a good position for the first game of the season. We know it’s going to be tough, every game in our league is tough, but we’re confident.”

Maidenhead once again had to do an element of squad rebuilding with the departures of full backs Sam Beckwith and Zico Asare to Rochdale and Harrogate Town respectively.

But Peters said the retention of much of last year’s squad pointed to a belief in the vision of the club.

“It shows that these boys see the vision and what the gaffer is trying to get together and they want to be a part of it,” Peters said.

“If we’re going to make sure we are still in this league next season and, hopefully pushing on from there, we’re going to have to keep these boys together for as long as we possibly can.

“It’s absolutely vital, especially for a small club like ourselves.”

The club announced two further signings this week with combative 22-year-old central midfielder Joshua Johnson joining on loan from Championship side Oxford United.

Ex-Reading goalkeeper Harvey Collins, who featured in the 4-0 pre-season victory over West Ham United under 21s, has also joined to provide competition to the experienced Craig Ross.

If the Magpies are to get off to a winning start tomorrow, Ross will need to be at his best with Eastleigh boasting last season’s top scorer Paul McCallum in their forward line. Peters said: “Paul McCallum ended up with 31 goals in the league last season.

“He’s absolutely not someone we can give any time and space in our 18 yard box.

“We’re trying our best to be as defensively solid as we can be to stop any slight spaces for him to exploit.

“But it’s not just him. They’re a really good side with a big budget to get the players in they need.

“We performed quite well against them at the back end of the season when we were on a run so we’ll be harnessing those performances.”

He added: “Pre-season can feel like a long old slog because there’s quite a lot of runs, quite a lot of testing to be done and the pre-season games don’t necessarily mean much in terms of points.

“To finally have those three points on offer with the first game of the season in front of our Magpies faithful, we’re all buzzing and chomping at the bit to get that first game underway.”