ROSS Jenkins is happy with the size of his squad as he prepares to lead Oxford City into a landmark first game in the Vanarama National League this weekend.
Following the Hoops’ monumental promotion in May, the club is set to play at the highest level in its history.
Head coach Jenkins has added four players to his squad during the summer, with goalkeepers Chris Haigh and Marcin Brzozowski, defender Tafari Moore and forward Pierre Fonkeu signed up.
The vast majority of last season’s side has remained with the team, with Klaidi Lolos’ move to Sky Bet League Two outfit Crawley Town the notable exit.
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Asked where he might want to strengthen, Jenkins responded: “We’ve got some young boys with us who have been training in pre-season and they’ve done brilliantly.
“The main thing is we keep our squad size down to a manageable number.
“What we don’t want is having loads of people out the squad, I don’t think that’s healthy for anyone.
“I want everyone to be a tight-knit group and if we need to make additions, we will.
“I think the first few games will be an eye-opener in terms of what we may need or what we might not need.
“We’ll know a little bit more once when we get the games ticking off but there’s no panic and there’s no rush.
“We’re not going to make any rash decisions. I’m comfortable with the squad we’ve got assembled right now.
“I believe in everyone and the players hopefully know that and understand that.
“I’m fully behind them and back every single one of them but we can’t be naive.
“As it stands, I think we’re okay. We’ve brought in a couple and the boys re-signed from last year, which is brilliant, and we’ve got some young boys training with us from the academy, so I think we’re in a good place.”
Jenkins is also pleased to keep the core of his side together, with the likes of Josh Ashby, Lewis Coyle, Reece Fleet, Zac McEachran and Alfie Potter all remaining at the club.
“Last pre-season, it was a big discussion that the core of what we’re doing is the local boys that have been here for two, three, four seasons,” said Jenkins.
“We added a few boys around us and strengthened in certain positions, but you’ve always got to have a core to a team.
“What we’ve got here is a core of players who are local and have known each other for many years.
“He’s showing the bit between his teeth recently in training, and that’s transferred into games.”
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“To rip it up and start again would be a nightmare because we’ve just done so well.
“We can add to that now rather than having to start from scratch with a whole new team.
“The boys have earned it and they’ve dug deep, and they’ve done well.
“I’d love to see them again achieve something in the next level and hopefully we can do that.”
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