MELKSHAM Town boss Kieran Baggs wants his players to be fighting for starting spots ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup extra preliminary round clash against Badshot Lea.

Baggs’ troops play their first competitive game of the season on Saturday when welcoming Mark Thomas’ side to the infiLED Arena following more than a month of pre-season build up.

Such is the depth of Melksham’s squad this season, Baggs admitted even some of his most experienced players are concerned about their place in the club’s first team.

But that’s a good problem for the Town boss to have as he plans to reverse the club’s FA Cup fortunes from recent years.

He said: “It’s always important to have squad depth.

“I’ve been happy with the recruitment and I hope to bring in one more before the end of the week.

“I like to have a strong and competitive squad. Some players that have been at the club for a while are worried about their places, and that’s only a good thing as we climb up the league.

“We have to ensure players are fighting for their places and not just turning up on a Saturday and expecting to play.

“I’m happy with the squad, although if I feel over the coming weeks that I need to add one more or let someone go, then I’ll do that.”

One of the hottest summers in years has hampered Melksham’s pre-season progress, with pitches across the south-west playing slower than preferred.

While accepting the issue has had an impact on all clubs, Baggs admitted he would’ve liked one more pre-season run-out to dust off any possible cobwebs still left over from the summer break.

He added: “We’ve been hampered a little bit by the weather and the pitches. Pitches have been so hard, I can’t ever remember a pre-season like it.

“It’s been difficult to have the surface that you want to play football on.

“But it’s the same for everyone, so we just have to adapt to it.

“Fitness-wise and in terms of our preparation with testing I’m very happy.

“I would’ve liked to have had another game just to dust some of the cobwebs off, but in general, it was a good end to our pre-season.

“We are ready to go now, it’s just about controlling the nerves when they kick in on Friday night.

“Managers and players love that feeling before the first competitive game. It’s all back to normal and we can’t wait to get started.”