Current crop can trump past Magpies teams, says boss Andy Preece

​The Magpies boss has been at the club for more than five years, firstly as previous manager Jamie Vermiglio’s assistant and then taking over in the summer of last year.

During Preece’s time at the club, the team has won promotion, reached the fourth-round proper of the FA Cup and been part of a number of play-off campaigns.

But having lost a number of players this summer such as key individuals like Connor Hall, Jon Ustabasi and Scott Leather, there were concerns that the Magpies may struggle this season.

Preece was forced to undertake a rebuilding job ahead of the new National League North season, but appears to have recruited well.

The new-look Magpies have enjoyed a fine start and a quarter of the way through the campaign, they find themselves in sixth spot having won five and drawn four of their opening 11 games.

"We are pretty much a quarter of the way through the season and we’re sitting in sixth place,” said Preece ahead of this weekend visit to Rushall Olympic.

"We have got a game in hand on a couple of the teams above us and I would have 100% taken that at this stage of the season especially when you think about the lads who went out.

“Losing 35 goals and your skipper, a lot of teams may have struggled to recover from that.

"But we have come back just as strong, if not stronger. Some of the football we have played this season is as good as we have played in a long, long time.

"I am really positive at the way things have gone and I understand that we will need a bit of luck in terms of lads staying fit because we have only got a small squad.

"I could not be more positive about where we are at this minute.”