Maidenhead United show form in pre-season but Dev admits further additions are needed

Maidenhead United have been a tough nut to crack in pre-season, with Alan Devonshire's side recording three straight wins without conceding a goal having also given Championship side Ipswich Town a run for their money.

Devonshire knows - and often states - that pre-season results count for very little, but even he's been impressed with the work his players have put in so far as they gear up for the new season.

He admits they look a little unbalanced, with further additions needed to bring more vibrancy to their attacking play, however, he'll be hoping the signing of winger Jayden Mitchell-Lawson - who has joined after leaving Ayr United - goes some way towards achieving that. The club is looking to bring in another two or three players before their opening game at home to AFC Fylde on Saturday, August 5.

While the players are slowly building their fitness and sharpness, Devonshire has also had the chance to run the rule over several trialists. At least three have featured in most of their friendlies so far, and one of them was on target from the penalty spot in Tuesday's 1-0 win at St Albans City.

However, Devonshire said this week it's too early to say if any of them have done enough to earn a contract with the Magpies.

“The players have done ok,” said Devonshire. “I don't go too much on pre-season, but we've looked quite solid defensively.

“That’s a plus and now we’ve got to get things going elsewhere. I’m pleased but I don’t take too much notice about pre-season, it’s about fitness and sharpness.

“There are still some decisions to be made on trialists. We're still looking at a few players and we do need to sign two or possibly three players before the start of the season.

“I'm not going to say that we'll do this or do that, you'll just have to wait and see what happens.”

Like others who have come to Maidenhead before him, Mitchell-Lawson will be hoping to re-ignite his career while at York Road, however, Devonshire says the club isn't just a steppingstone and believes the winger can be an asset for the 'here and now'.

“We’re pleased,” he said. “We’re getting a few players signed now. We’ve still got a couple to do before we start, but Jayden (Mitchell-Lawson) will be a good asset. He's here to help us for the here and now and he's under contract so we'll see what happens going forward.”

Having claimed a routine 3-0 win over Flackwell Heath last week, the Magpies were made to work hard for Saturday's 2-0 win at Thatcham Town.

Defenders Temi Eweka and Kevin Lokko grabbed the goals in the second half before the National League side went on to beat St Albans 1-0 in mid-week.

They'll look to keep their winning run going at Hayes & Yeading United on Saturday and Banbury United on Saturday, July 29.

“We need to do a little bit of work to get it to where we want it to be. We still need another midfield player, and we still need another striker. The players are fine, they’re enjoying working hard. We’re stepping it up now. They trained very hard on Monday, and they were a bit tired yesterday late on. I expected that. We’ll be pushing them again on Thursday, ready for Saturday’s game.”

On his side's remaining friendly fixtures, Devonshire added: “We might try and fix up another game up behind closed doors.

“We’re ok right now, the boys have been getting some good minutes, and those that haven’t will be starting in these next games. We can’t afford any injuries at the moment.”