BRIDGWATER Town co-manager Dave Pearse is looking forward to the competitive action beginning this weekend when his Robins side host Keynsham Town in the extra preliminary round of the FA Cup.

The striker, who will combine his managerial role with playing duties, has had a busy pre-season alongside Karl Baggaley but is relishing the new challenge.

He said: “I’ve really enjoyed the summer - it’s been very busy, but the lads have been exceptional and that’s made our task easier.

“Reserve team manager Dan Wright has been helping out with the sessions so it’s been more of a trio than a duo so far, and it helps that we all have a similar attitude towards how things should be run.”

As is the custom at Town’s level, there has been a fairly significant turnover of players in both directions.

The Robins added six players - three of whom came from Cheddar - early in the summer and have since added further to their squad, as Pearse explained.

“We’ve signed Dave Thorne, a full-back from Shepton Mallet, and centre-half Josh White is returning to the club after a year out of the game.

“There are also a couple of new faces joining us from Barnstaple - striker Kyle Paine and central midfielder Jack Jenkins, who is a really big signing and a bit of a coup for us.

“There have been some departures, too. George Kellow has moved to Swindon Supermarine, Elliot Ripley requires a hip operation and Will Sneddon-Coombes has gone to coach in Qatar.”

Last year’s captain Harry Horton has also departed Fairfax Park to join Tiverton Town, who have just been promoted into the Evo-Stik Southern Premier Division.

Speaking about the departure of the attacking midfielder, Pearse said: “It’s a bit of a blow, but quite understandably he wanted to play at the highest level he could and Tiverton have given him that opportunity - we couldn’t stand in his way.”

Bridgwater have had a packed pre-season schedule, and lost 2-1 at Chard after a late comeback by the hosts on Saturday.

They concluded their series of friendlies by beating Taunton Town 2-1 on Tuesday, the ideal way to prepare for the competitive action which begins with the visit of Keynsham in the FA Cup.

Looking ahead to the tie, Pearse said: “It’s an exciting time and I’m really looking forward to getting going after a long summer.

“Keynsham are in the league below us but it will be a tough game as they, too, are under new management and have added a lot of new players in pre-season.

“It’s vital that we get off to a good start to try and build some momentum, and a cup win would be great for the finances as a win would bring in around £1,500.

“Pre-season overall has been good, and our best display came in Newport last week in the 2-1 win at Caldicot - it was a complete performance throughout the 90 minutes.”