Saxby relishing Linby return with Blidworth

The 27-year-old boss departed Church Lane during the summer to take over at their CML South rivals and the fixtures have thrown up an instant return for Saxby to face his former chargers.

Saxby has wasted no time in stamping his own authority on the Blidworth squad with several new faces arriving at the club for the new season.

The manager who also had spells with Teversal and Mansfield Town Ladies upon his CV is delighted to be in charge of a club with such a proud history and is chomping at the bit for the season to get underway.

Ahead of his first competitive fixture in charge of Blidworth, Saxby said: “I have settled in really quickly and a lot of that is down to the people already in place at the club. The work which goes into running the club is admirable and he has made it easy for me to come in and just hit the ground running.”

Saxby oversaw a mixed bag of results during the pre-season fixtures but the boss has been largely content with what his players have produced in the way of performances during the friendlies.

He said: “We had good results against Selston and Newark where we were deserved winners, whilst we also put on a tremendous second half showing against a very good Shirebrook side at the weekend.

“We did have the blips against Kimberley and Clipstone but then that is what pre-season is all about – trying different things and ultimately discovering what is going to work moving forward.”

Ahead of Saturday’s intriguing opening fixture against his former employers, the Blidworth boss claims his side is now ready for it and is looking forward to the meaningful games getting underway.

Saxby said: “It is obviously one that I am looking forward to in particular. We have two sessions to get out of the way this week but to be fair we are pretty much good to go anyway.

“I fully expect to see two sides who know each other pretty well and two that will be doing their utmost to secure all three points.

“I think they will perhaps try and make is a scrappy occasion on their pitch, which is an awkward one to attempt to get a result on – but we shall go there in great confidence.”

Saxby is in bullish mood when it comes to his side’s chances for the forthcoming campaign. He added: “I think we have to try and push for the top six. We will take each game as they come.”