.....a young squad as he looks to build on two consecutive tenth-placed finishes in the Uhlsport Hellenic League Premier Division.

Since Dave Evans and Shayne Bradley both announced their retirement at the end of the 2017/18 season, Pritchett also lost his player/assistant-manager Shayne Anson, who has moved to Evesham United, which saw former Colchester United and Dagenham & Redbridge pro Alex O’Leary promoted to the role vacated by Anson.

Losing three senior and influential players was a blow, but Pritchett feels that, after a difficult start to pre-season, his side are now ready for the challenges ahead.

“We’ve lost a lot of experience with Bradders and Dave retiring, then Shayne moving on, which has meant Alex and I have a bit of a rebuilding job on our hands”, Pritchett confirmed. “Despite that, we have a lot of young players, with huge potential, and we’re excited to see what they can do at this level.”

Pritchett’s side played seven pre-season games and after opening with three defeats, including losing both games in the inaugural Severn Sport Shield in early July, but performances improved as the preparations gathered pace and the Rovers boss is feeling very positive ahead of the opening Hellenic League game on Saturday.

“After a tricky pre-season, when injuries and player availability really affected us, I’m really looking forward to the start of the season”, he added. “We might have benefited from having a little bit more experience in the squad, but I’m happy with what we’ve got.”

Rovers’ recent games against Saturday’s opposition have seen both mixed performances and results, but their last visit to The Gerard Buxton Sports Ground saw them record a dramatic 4-3 win, with two goals in the closing seconds sealing a comeback from a 3-1 deficit.

Earlier in the 2017/18, Royal Wootton Bassett’s current manager scored twice to seal a 2-0 win against Pritchett’s men.

After the departure of several players over the course of the last 12 months, Pritchett might have good reason to feel pessimistic, but he confesses to feeling very pleased with the shape of his squad as they prepare for the 2018/19 season.

After losing Evans to retirement and then seeing his first-choice replacement, Eric Edge, opt for a move to Slimbridge, Pritchett is pleased to have two good goalkeeping options at his disposal.

“Losing Dave Evans was a big blow, as he was not just a great keeper but a real leader, too”, reflected Pritchett. “I’m really pleased we’ve managed to bring in Luke Merchant, who has signed on dual registration forms from Cirencester Town, but Kane Winman has shown in pre-season that he is capable of competing for a place in the team and having two options is important in any position, but particularly in goal.”

Away from the goalkeeping position, the Rovers boss has bolstered his options with a number of young players hungry for their chance at Hellenic League level and he sees all of them as capable of producing performances that will make his side competitive.

Former Gloucester City under-18 players Dom Kent and Brad Loveridge have developed quickly over the pre-season period, whilst forward Essa Sabally has made the step-up from Rovers’ own under-18 squad and looks to have genuine potential.

In addition, Pritchett has managed to persuade the talented Paul Carter to make the move from Gloucestershire County League football with Hardwicke and Ryan Dobbins has returned to the club after a very successful year at another County League club, Gala Wilton.

Although he’s struggled with injury, former Bishops Cleeve development player Jake Rhodes has shown flashes of good form during pre-season, meaning the huge loss associated with Shayne Bradley;s departure could be masked by a sense of genuine competition for attacking roles, with last year’s new-boy, Ash Bird, netting regularly in pre-season, after a relatively barren 2017/18 campaign.

All in all, Pritchett is looking forward to the trip to Royal Wootton Bassett with real optimism.

“This squad has real potential and we’re genuinely excited to see what we can do. I can’t wait to get started”, he concluded.