SHRIVENHAM boss Sam Collier is hopeful his players will take plenty away from their clash with the Swindon Town youth team, despite not expecting to see an awful lot of the ball.

The Robins’ stars of the future are in action at Barrington Park tonight, with the game kicking off at 7.45pm.

Collier, who is currently unable to play due to a knee injury, is looking forward to seeing how his players cope against the youngsters, on what is a special evening for the club.

“This is our first friendly but we’ve had three relatively tough training sessions so it’s going to be nice to get a game in,” he said.

“For us to play a team from Swindon Town is good and hopefully it will bring a few through the gate for us, as it’s always nice to have a professional club come down.

“We’ve had a working party up there making sure the ground is clean, tidy and presentable and they’ve done a great job.

“They may not be professionals yet but it will be good for the lads to play against some young, full-time footballers, and it will be a good workout.

“You’ve got to appreciate you won’t have an awful lot of the ball but that’s what pre-season is all about. If we can get the ball it will be good to show what we’ve got and put on a good show.

“Swindon don’t have a huge squad so need their youth team, which I know is important to them, and maybe these lads will get a chance one day so it is a good chance for the Town fans to get a look at them.”

Collier is also pleased with the squad he has at his disposal for the new season, with five new signings joining the core of the side which finishing the last campaign well.

“We’ve pleased with what we’ve done with five new faces coming in, although we weren’t that far off last season we did lack that little bit of consistency at times.

“Those we have managed to bring in have been the players we wanted, so there’s plenty to be optimistic about.”

Entry to this evening’s game costs £3 and includes a programme, with the World Cup semi-final clash between Brazil and Germany shown in the bar.