Back to Normality says Captain Bari

Aberystwyth Town captain Bari Morgan writes on www.atfc.org.uk ahead of the forthcoming campaign
It’s been great to back in training with the boys and getting our banter going again! It’s surprising how much you miss it when you’re out of season!
Training has been hard but it’s what’s expected as we’re put through our paces by the manager and Griffy as we aim to get our fitness back to the high levels expected. I’ve probably found it harder than ever this pre-season seeing as I missed the last couple of months of last season through injury but I’m finally beginning to feel the benefits of all the hard training now. Whilst training has been hard, it has also been enjoyable and it seems all the boys are glad to be back. Griff’s picked up some great new sessions from his “A” Badge course.....
We’re still a good few weeks from our main target of August 15th but I can guarantee everyone that we’ll all be 100% fit by the time we kick off against Neath. We have many pre-season games lined up and I can’t wait to get back into playing them, after all, it’s what it’s all about. You definitely can’t beat anything for match fitness and we’re starting off on Saturday with what will be a hard test against Merthyr Tydfil who have already had a couple of games under their belt. We’ll then face a game against Bow Street which I have no doubt will be very tough also seeing as I know most of their team and having seen how well they did last year in the Spar Mid Wales league. With games then again to follow against Penrhyncoch, Newcastle Emlyn, Market Drayton, Afan Lido and Bala, all of which will be competitive but great for us in order to get our match fitness up to scratch.
I have been delighted with the signings we have made in Chris Venables, Graham Evans and Colin Reynolds and look forward to them putting on the Green and Black shirt. Chris is undoubtedly one of the major signings of the Welsh Premier to date, his quality on the ball is second to none and will be of great asset to us this season, his ability at dead ball situations also, will be a big bonus for us and if he continues to score as he has throughout his seasons in the Welsh Premier then I think we’ll be in for a good season.
Graham is a player I know we have been after for a very long time and finally we have managed to get him down the Llangurig road to ourselves!! I have played in many teams with Graham as a youngster and am delighted that we now have the chance to play on the same team again. We have struggled for a typical out and out goalscorer for many years in Aberystwyth but i now believe we have a striker who’s capable of getting us those 20 goals a season!!
Colin’s another great signing for us and all his experience will be great asset for us, he’s a true winner of the game and seeing from what I’ve seen in training so far, he’s as hungry as ever to get on that football pitch and add to his already impressive amount of Welsh Premier games.
Whilst we have made great signings, we have sadly lost a few too who I wish all the very best in wherever they now end up. I believe our squad is still rather on the thin side at the moment and I wouldn’t be surprised if we were to add to it again before August 15th comes around.
Any player joining this club should feel privileged to get the chance as it really is a well run, ambitious football club who continues to aim to improve each year. With our current squad, I will be extremely disappointed if we don’t improve dramatically on where we finished last season which simply wasn’t good enough for a club of Aber’s stature.
Let’s hope for a better season and hopefully some much anticipated silverware!!