Following Boreham Wood’s first win of pre-season, Mark Ricketts has praised the hard work of his teammates as they prepare for the new campaign.
Ricketts skippered the side to a 0-2 victory over Haringey Borough on Tuesday night and said that despite it still being early pre-season, the side look raring to go.
“I think that there was quite a bit of rustiness out there,” Ricketts admitted. “But it is always going to be like that in the first friendly of the season and I think that we done alright, I think that we worked hard and got something out of it.
“We worked hard down in Devon, we worked very, very hard, but that is what it is all about, we were definitely still feeling a bit leggy in the game, but we are going to and that is what it is about in pre-season.
“It is important to get our fitness right and to get into good habits and to get rid of some of the cobwebs.”
With six of the seven summer signings all featuring in the side, the 32-year-old emphasised the importance of gelling as a team, praising the great work so far.
He continued: “I felt that the new lads all done really well, I think that the week away has helped us all bond together and helped us to all build an understanding. We showed that understanding tonight and it will only improve as we play more games together.
“I think that Shaun (Jeffers) done really well, especially considering that this is the first time that he has played with us, he done brilliantly. Shaun got himself about, he looked sharp, he held the ball up well, it was good.”
There was also a goalscoring performance from academy product Frank Keita, and the skipper reserved special praise for the club’s young stars.
“Frank came on and done brilliantly in the midfield,” Ricketts elated. “Brad used his body well upfront as well, Quba done well at the back, I think that they are all showing why they deserve to be involved in the first team, they have proven that they have got something there and they need to continue to grow and get stronger.”
You can listen to the full interview online below:
