Sleaford boss hails a winning start to pre-season

Jacob Fenton scored a hat-trick in the win, with Ward himself also getting on the scoresheet in the first-half.

And speaking to the club’s media team after the game, the player-boss took heart from such a good display.

He said: “We came with a young side to give people opportunities – I think if you took Charlie [Ward] and I out of the team it was an U23s team – so it gave them an opportunity to see if they could justify being in and around us and they more than did that so they should be delighted with their performances.

“Newark are a really good side and we were delighted they were as keen for a friendly as we were, and they were a good test for us so to come out with a win as convincing as it was is good for us.

"It was a great result but it’s not about that, it’s about looking at the patterns and things like that which we’ve just started to produce and I thought we were superb at it and it's where we got a lot of our joy, even without some of our bigger players."

Ward says he now anticipates some new signings will arrive at the club in the coming days, with Sleaford set to play their next game against Northgate Olympic on the back pitch at Eslaforde Park on Tuesday night (4th) with free entry to all spectators.

Ward said: “We lost a couple to Lincoln United in Joe Smith and Mitch Griffiths and they’re big players to replace, but we’ve got players coming in over the next week or two who have been trying to get in at step four and step three, hence us giving the chance to these younger lads at Newark beforehand, and it’s looking really bright for us.”

Ward added that Ryan Flitton has also committed to remain with Sleaford for the coming season after signing a new deal, saying: “Ryan has returned to pre-season with a point to prove and has been tremendous so far.

"We are delighted he wants to continue on this journey and are really pleased with his development."