MELKSHAM Town’s pre-season campaign continues this weekend when former Football League outfit Yeovil Town bring an XI to the infiLED Arena on Saturday (3pm).

Richard Fey’s side opened their pre-season campaign last weekend with a 4-2 loss at Shepton Mallet – a game that saw Andy Sandell return from injury after his campaign was prematurely ended last year by an anterior cruciate ligament knock.

Sandell is one of just three players to remain at Melksham from last season – Tom Warren and Luke Ballinger being the other two.

Taking the volume of new players in his squad into account, Fey wants to establish togetherness and consistency in his team before they face Slimbridge on the opening day of the Southern League season.

With fixtures against Bath City, Chippenham Town and Swindon Town to follow this weekend’s visit of Yeovil, Fey is confident his goal can be achieved.

He said: “With the amount of new players we have got, it’s now about developing a system of togetherness.

“It’s a new team – only three players have stayed from last season. Establishing some consistency in pre-season is important for me.

“I’m not worried about the opposition (Yeovil), I’m more worried about ourselves.

“If we can develop the systems I want to apply to the team on the pitch before our first game against Slimbridge then our pre-season can be deemed successful.”

Fey has reduced Melksham’s squad to 17 players after fielding two teams against Shepton Mallet last weekend.

The Town boss is still searching for new players to join his ranks, but admits he won’t sign every target for the sake of it.

And it’s that element of Fey’s management that makes being boss of Melksham feel like a 24/7 role.

He explained: “Six weeks ago, I only had two players – I wasn't in a position where I could pick and choose.

“We had a lot of trialists against Shepton, and I’m a big believer about getting minutes in during pre-season and establishing a togetherness within the squad.

“I try to watch as many games as I can, we’ve already been out to watch plenty this pre-season.

“The lads I’ve brought in are players I’ve always kept an eye on. We’re lucky to keep Tom Warren, Luke Ballinger and Chris Allen from last year.

“We don’t sign every target – so that takes up time.

“It’s been one of the hardest challenges I’ve had – management and playing.”