FAN'S VIEW: SOUTHPORT FC SEASON PREVIEW

Nicola was kind enough to share her views on the upcoming season for her club Southport.

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

2014/15 was a tough season for Southport with quite a bit of adversity to overcome despite the fantastic FA Cup run which saw us make it to the 3rd round to take on Derby and eventually lose out on forcing a home replay to a 94th minute penalty! Damn you Chris Martin! Manager Gary Brabin left the club in January leaving assistant Paul Carden to take on the role of ensuring Southport’s survival in the league.  It was a tough run and very much touch and go at points, but he managed it much to the supporters’ relief.

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

Yes. I have been very impressed so far.  Paul Carden has worked very hard over the summer to build this squad.  One particular stand out addition being the very experienced central midfielder Gary Jones, former Bradford City Captain who led them to the 2013 League Cup Final.

ARE THERE ANY AREAS YOU FEEL STILL NEED STRENGTHENING?

I think we could do with bringing in some wide players, though manager Paul Carden has stated that he has not quite finished building the squad as yet.  I would also like to see our attack strengthened, we could do with a few more options going forward.

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

My boss is an Altrincham fan so I’m looking forward to taking them on!  I am also very excited about Tranmere being in the league and expect those to be a well-attended and hard fought games for Merseyside bragging rights!

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

I think this could finally be Grimsby’s year.  They have been right there the last few seasons and think this could be the year they do it.

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

Keep an eye out for striker Richard Brodie as always, his reputation does very much precede him! Right-back Matty Challoner has come back looking sharp, fit, strong and much improved in that position and I have also been very impressed by former Morecambe midfielder Andrew Wright during pre-season.

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

I dread this question! Each year we are tipped for relegation but I'm going to be optimistic and say there is no reason why this season we can’t be the surprise team that overachieves!  I would be happy with a nice mid-table finish!