SWINDON Supermarine manager Lee Spalding says everyone at the club is looking forward to welcoming Swindon Town to the Webbswood Stadium this evening.

The annual fixture between the two teams takes place tonight and Spalding is eager to test his troops against Phil Brown’s Football League outfit.

Marine go into the game on the back of a 5-2 win over Royal Wootton Bassett Town as they continue their preparations for life in the Southern League Premier Division.

Town aren’t Marine’s only opposition this weekend as they also take on Bradford Town on Saturday and Hungerford Town on Sunday.

“It’s a game we always look forward to, everyone at the football club does, and it is a good opportunity for the players to play against a professional side,” he said.

“The players have worked really hard during pre-season and all of them have played some part in the games we have had.

“Intensity of training has been good and I am really pleased with the way it has gone so far. The weekend is an opportunity to make sure people get minutes into their legs with a view to the start of the season.”

Former Town defender Jerel Ifil has also been training with Marine after coming out of retirement.

The 36-year-old last played for Staines United four years ago and has been building his fitness throughout pre-season, where he has featured twice for Marine.

Spalding says he’s unsure on whether they will be able to reach an agreement with Ifil, and says there is a long way for the former Town man to go.

“He contacted us and said that he was thinking about coming out of retirement, so we are seeing how he gets on,” said Spalding.

“We have played him in a couple of games and he has done okay. It’s a long time to have been out of the game, he has been out for four years.

“He has come back and played 45 minutes and then 85 in another game. He’s now on a family holiday so when he come back it’s a case of getting him as fit as possible.

“We will have him training with the group and see where he is in relation to what we have got at the club in his position and whether we are able to offer him anything.”

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