Buxton all set for big kick-off as season begins
Buxton finally get their National League North season up and running this weekend as they welcome Radcliffe to the Tarmac Silverlands Stadium.
The Bucks will be looking to emulate last season’s efforts when they reached the play-offs before being eliminated by Chester.
And having overseen a positive pre-season schedule, manager John McGrath told the club’s media he’s confident going into the new campaign.
He said: “We’ve had five or six weeks with the boys now and they’ve worked really hard and now we’re champing at the bit ahead of Saturday which is the business end of what they do.
"I know in my head who will play and that’s part of my job, to make the difficult decisions.
"It’s important we carry on from what we built last season, both home and away, and the fans’ support will be crucial.
"It genuinely does make a different to the boys when the place is buzzing so we urge fans to get their season tickets and get down and support us.”
Buxton ended their pre-season with a 2-0 win at Warrington Town on Saturday.
Goals from Ryan Viggars and Johnny Johnston gave the Bucks victory to round off their summer matches on a positive note.
McGrath said: “It was a tough game. Warrington came down from our division last season and they’ve recruited well, so it was a really good test and one similar to what we’ll face during the season.
"The pitch was a bit sticky but that happens – we’ll go to places in August and September where it’s nice and warm and the pitch is long and dry, but it’s the same for both teams and I thought we moved the ball around well considering.”
Meanwhile, Buxton have confirmed the return of goalkeeper Joe Young after a spell with Shrewsbury Town.
Young featured in the 2022/23 season on loan from Wolves when Buxton came close to a play-off place and has also played on loan at Brackley since leaving Derbyshire.