Boreham Wood kick off the new campaign with a trip to Fylde on Saturday, August 5 (3pm) and Garrard asserted his view that the Wood will be going for all three points.
The Wood have had a strong pre-season, loosing just twice, to Luton Town and an Arsenal XI, and will go into the new campaign full of confidence.
Garrard declared: “Everyone is building up for August 5th, and no disrespect to any of Hemel Hempstead, Arsenal, Luton, Wingate and Finchley and the other teams that we have faced this pre-season, but they are all tests to get you to where you want to be.
“Saturday is the biggie, everyone wants to start with three points on the board and we are no different.
“We want to go there and be positive, that is something that we want will try and do this year. I want to play on the front foot with a tempo and an energy and I think that I have got the personnel and the players to do so.
“We know that AFC Fylde are going to be tough, they are going to be organised and well drilled and they have got players who can cause problems on the day, so we need to guard against that.
“For me, it is about Boreham Wood, it is about the team who are going out there and the five subs, all pulling together and getting a result.”
Somewhat of an unknown quantity, this will be AFC Fylde’s first ever season in the National League.
The Lancashire based outfit won the National League North Title last season with a match to spare, accumulating over 100 points and a 100 goals in the process.
However, Garrard says that his side are fully prepared to deal with the league newcomers, commenting: “It is going to be a tough test, if you look at them last year, they had 100+ goals and 100+ points, it is a habit, they won week-in-week-out.
“Yes, they will be full of confidence, but I think that after our pre-season and the work that the boys have done in recent weeks, we can go and exploit them on Saturday.
“You can probably name five or six players from their side last year who could have played at this level already. On top of that they have recruited well, they have recently signed Simon grand and Jack Muldoon, they have quality across the board.
“We have a system that I believe will get us onto the front foot and we have given the boys an idea and an understanding of how I think we are going to go out and get in their faces.
“If we are positive and if the players know what is being asked of them then I think that we can get a result come Saturday.”
The Wood will return to the field on Saturday a vastly different side than the one that finished the 2016/17 campaign. A number of signings and staffing changes have been made as the Wood look to take themselves to the next level.
Garrard asserted his delight at the work that has been done over the summer, and stated his belief that the side can be competitive this season.
“We want to hopefully progress from where we were last year and I believe that the recruitment has been positive. I feel that the personnel who have been brought in are going to bolster the group, they complement each other.
“I have said previously, and I will say it again, I think that the week down in Devon has made this group stronger.
“You can see that in the training ground and you can see it in-and-around the club, I think the camaraderie is five weeks in advance of where it should be.
“They have been a pleasure to work with in the past five-to-six weeks; Saturday is a big day for the boys and we are all looking to get off on the front foot.”
