PURTON boss Justin Miller thinks that it will take time for his new-look side to gel together but was encouraged by what he saw in his team’s first showing of the season at the Red House.

Late goals from Paul Carson and Dave Slattery saw Miller’s men overturn a one-goal deficit and claim a dramatic 2-1 win over North Leigh United on the opening day of the Hellenic League Division One West campaign last weekend.

On Saturday, Purton host last season’s champions Tytherington Rocks but the Red House chief admits that this weekend’s assignment is a step into the unknown.

“Tytherington won the league last year but I’ve heard that they’ve lost a lot of players, so I don’t really know what to expect from them,” said Miller.

“We had a good start last weekend and it was nice to see us keep working until the end and score twice in the last five minutes – to be honest, we were a bit nervous in the first half but we got there in the end.

“We’ve got a very different team to last year with only seven or eight lads that have stayed so everyone has tried to get to know each other in pre-season but that’s not that easy because people are playing 45 or 60 minutes and players are coming on and off all the time.

“It will take a bit of time for us and it’s a work in progress at the moment.”

Steve Davies and Joe Dorey are unavailable for this weekend’s clash with the Rocks but captain Marcus Hall returns to the Purton squad along with Steve May and Ben Carter.

Elsewhere, New College make the trip to North Leigh for their first away fixture of the season.

The student side kicked off the new campaign with all three points at Letcombe last weekend, with Josh Croucher, Jack Goddard and David Kinuthia scoring in a 3-1 triumph.