FAN'S VIEW: LOWESTOFT TOWN SEASON PREVIEW

Reece gave us his thoughts and hopes for Lowestoft Town as they embark on their next season in the National League North.

HOW DID YOU FEEL THE 14/15 SEASON WENT FOR YOUR TEAM?

I feel that as a whole the season was very successful, the club achieved its main aim of staying in the Conference North after being promoted the previous season. I think the management admitted it took us awhile to find our feet, but by the end of the season a 12 game unbeaten run underlined our competitiveness within the division and showed that we could compete at the Conference North level. Winning the Suffolk Premier Cup in club legend Micky Chapman's last game as manager had to be the highlight of the season, a fitting end to a excellent season and 'Mr Lowestoft's' 33 years at the club .

HAVE YOU BEEN IMPRESSED WITH THE ADDITIONS MADE DURING THE SUMMER BREAK?

I think the fans of the club have to be impressed with the addition of Ryan Jarvis, a striker who had been applying his trade in league football for the entirety of his career, to have that experience at this level will be invaluable as the season goes on, as will hopefully his goals prove invaluable too. Another signing comes in the form of Goalkeeper Marcus Garnham, who has often put in excellent displays in the oppositions goal versus LTFC. Two excellent additions to the team for the 15/16 National League North season. And Scott Mitchell returns to the club after a period away, providing depth to numerous positions across the defence and midfield.

ARE THERE ANY AREAS YOU FEEL STILL NEED STRENGTHENING?

The defence, but the management of the club acknowledges this too. Losing perhaps two of our best players over the past few years in Sam Gaughran and Curtis Haynes-Brown this summer has left a gap in our defence that our signings this summer have not yet filled. To add to this, Omar Sowunmi who impressed on loan last year has now found a new club in Yeovil Town and it was a shame not to see him join the club on a permanent transfer, the lure of league football however is clearly understandable. I think as fans we appreciate that given our geographical location in comparison to the other teams in this league, it is often difficult to add the quality to the team that the manager, Ady Gallagher, would like because of travel and work commitment issues. I'm sure given time though, the club will have new blood in place who can go on and become new crowd favourites for the trawler boys and girls to cheer on.

ARE THERE ANY FIXTURES THAT YOU'RE PARTICULARLY LOOKING FORWARD TO?

All of them? I think stand out fixtures for us this season include some of the new sides in the division such as FC United of Manchester and AFC Telford (Who come up on the opening day). We formed some strong friendships over the past season and I know both the fans of Chorley FC and Lowestoft are looking forward to meeting twice again this season. Personally, I am looking forward to the trip to Edgley Park, I think when you see your team play in a 10,000+ capacity stadium, it is a real vindication for yourself as a fan of how far your team has come from since when you first watched them, in front of crowds of 50 people in rural East Anglia.

WHICH OPPOSITION TEAM DO YOU HAVE HIGH HOPES FOR THIS SEASON?

If I don't say Chorley here, there could be a few raised eyebrows.. so I hope they do well. I think it will be interesting to see how a side like FC United of Manchester do, I have pretty good expectations for them given the way they have been agonisingly close to this promotion for the past four or five years.

WHICH PLAYERS AMONG YOUR SQUAD SHOULD WE BE LOOKING OUT FOR THIS TERM?

I think the entire group of strikers we have at the club are those other fans and clubs should be looking out for this season. As mentioned before, Ryan Jarvis has years of experience at a higher level and should be comfortable finding the net and some form in this league. Danny Crow is of a similar ilk to Ryan, years of league experience and unfortunately was injured for the majority of his spell with us last season. I think now he has re-discovered some fitness, he will be a vital asset to us doing well this season and his experience will help carry the team into the later stages.  Bradley Woods-Garness is a player I hope gets more playing time than he has been afforded in the past couple of seasons he has been with the club. I think Bradley would admit himself that he has not been 100% fit for the most of his stay at Lowestoft and has often found himself on the physios table with a range of injuries, but the man is goals and has proven this over the years with clubs such as Sutton United and Canvey Island. Bradley has said he now feels 100% fit for the first time in his spell at LTFC, so I hope he is afforded the opportunity to have minutes on the pitch and score the goals he is known for. Jake Reed guarantees goals and has shown this in hits spells with the club, another ex-league player with Dagenham & Redbridge who can often be unplayable, a 15 Goal season predicted for Jake who will win us points all season.

WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'LL END UP AT THE END OF THE SEASON?

It is really difficult to put a final position up on the board at this point, given that I feel the squad is incomplete and you always have to factor in the geography with our club in this league. If I was being optimistic, I'd like to say we could be propping up the top half of the table come the end of the season. The pessimist fan in me says it could be a struggle this season without some quality additions to the back line. Although, I believe the goals in the team will keep us competitive in every game. Let me go with the optimist and say we will finish between 10th and 14th.