SWINDON Supermarine will be taking a slightly different approach to pre-season this year as they look to return to the upper echelons of the Southern League Division One South and West.

Last season was a disappointing campaign for the Webb’s Wood outfit, which saw them stumble to a 14th place finish.

Boss Dave Webb had to contend with a raft of injuries to key players last term and, with pre-season training set to start on July 1, he is looking forward to pressing the reset button ahead of the new campaign.

Obviously Webb was not happy with the performances last season and is looking to provide his team with a stronger blueprint for their approach this time around.

Part of that involves using the limited time he has with his players on tactical preparation, as opposed to the traditional fitness work most clubs prioritise at this time of year.

“We’re going to have a little bit of a different outlook on pre-season,” said Webb.

“We’re going to work a lot more on what we want to do in terms of the shape and the way we want the team to play. We’re going to do a lot more with the ball.

“I think the days of sticking four flags in the corner and telling the lads to run around for 20 minutes are done.

“We get such little time with them in terms of pre-season and when the season starts, you get two hours a week, if you’re lucky.

“As a coach or a manager how are you supposed to work on stuff? It’s very difficult.”

However, Webb is not ignoring the need for his side to build a base of fitness. Instead he is insisting a lot more of that work has to be put on players when they are away from the club.

“You need to be fit, but I need to trust my players to go away and keep themselves fit,” added the Marine chief.

“We want the players to be fit, we expect them to be fit and expect them to do things away from the club, on their own.

“When they’re in we’ll be working with them and we’ll be trying to have an outlook on doing a lot with the ball, working on the team individually and collectively.

“Hopefully it will make us a lot more solid and have everyone knowing the way I want them to play.”