‘Tough’ decisions ahead as Allinson gets set to trim St Albans’ squad
Ian and Lee Allinson on the City bench. Picture: BOB WALKLEY - Credit: Archant
St Albans City’s manager Ian Allinson is facing some tough decisions as he looks to finalise his squad for the upcoming Vanarama National League South season.
Saints currently have a squad of over 20 players and the gaffer says he wants to trim that down.
He said: “We are still carrying a squad that’s probably too big and we’ve two games left [before the league starts against Concord Rangers] where we can really look at people and make some big decisions.
“It’s going to be tough because some people are going to be left out; some are going to be left behind. But we’ve got to do what’s right for the football club in terms of how we want to improve.
“Everyone is here to try and impress us. We’ve looked at a few bodies so far that haven’t quite been good enough and we’ve got a few more to look at in the next two weeks.
“We’ll cut the squad down to 18 or 19 for the Ware game and that’s how we’ll be for the start of the season.”
Allinson said that he has a rough idea of what his starting XI will be against Concord although he still wants to bring in one or two loan players.
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“For me it’ll be exciting,” he said. “But we still want to make one or two things happen but we won’t know until later in the week.
“So I have to plan with what we’ve got. But I still fell we’ve got an exciting side.
“We’ve got pace going forward and when we go into the season I’d like to have two up front. Sam Merson has looked bright when he’s been on. He’s picked up every game and he does create things.
“We’ve got Shaun Lucien and Rhys Hoenes’ pace and I also like the look of Matt Ball in that pocket where he can get on the ball and cause problems.”