By Kevin Redsull

As Ashford Town prepare for their opening pre-season friendly at Tunbridge Wells on Saturday, manager Steve Lovell has resgined himself to the loss of two more experienced players.

Defensive duo Sean Ray and Jimmy Elford have both decided to return to their former club, Hastings United, and Lovell admitted: "They are a big loss, there’s no point in pretending otherwise because they were both excellent for us last season."

Their departure, plus the possible loss of winger Jimmy Bottle to Maidstone United, leaves Lovell (pictured) with just seven or eight players from last season’s squad but the Ashford boss is refusing to be downbeat about the situation.

He said: "I am happy with the nucleus of players that I’ve got and I have had loads of players
asking to come down here for a trial.

"I will be playing some of them at Tunbridge Wells along with some of the young lads from the reserve team and we are also having a full-scale trial game taking place behind closed doors at Homelands on Tuesday.

"I am always being told there is a lot of good local talent in this area. Well. This is the chance for local players to come down and show us what they can do.

"Everybody who turns up on Tuesday will get some time out on the pitch but I will also use the game as a training session for the first team squad."

Ashford’s next friendly after the Wells game is against
new Homelands tenants Maidstone on Saturday, July 25 and
Bottle could be a Stones player by then.

Lovell added: "Jimmy has been away on holiday but I spoke to him on Tuesday and he said he was talking to Maidstone.

"I said to him that I wasn’t going to be kept hanging around and that I want a decision by this weekend."

In the search for new players, Lovell added: "I won’t be signing anybody for a couple of weeks because I need to have a look at a lot of players before then.

"I am having to play catch up to a certain extent because of the problems we’ve had at the club but now they’ve been resolved
and we’ve got some stability
again, we can all begin to move forward."

Ashford will begin their Ryman League Division 1 South
campaign away to
Croydon Athletic on Saturday, August 15.

They will then be at home to Merstham on Wednesday, August 19, at home to Godalming Town on Saturday, August 22 and away to Sittingbourne on Monday, August 24.

Their Bank Holiday opponents on Monday, August 31 will be Whitstable at Homelands and Lovell said: "It’s a tough start with five matches in 17 days, but after all that’s gone on, we are just looking forward to getting out and playing."