The first in a three part Q &A chat with Director of Football Gerry Luczka. Leading up to the 2010-2011 season.

1. Gerry pre-season has arrived have you enjoyed the break and are you looking forward to training again?

It has been just short of ten weeks since we finished which is a good break for all concerned, yes I always enjoy the rest and I am looking forward to training , I am aware some clubs have been bringing their players in once a week but we feel the complete break from football is beneficial to all of us, there is enough time between now and the season starting to get to the level of fitness we require, that is what pre-season is for. Most lads nowadays look after themselves and visit the gym or go running, the ones that haven't we will soon see!!

2. What is the schedule for pre-season training?

We resumed training on the 1^st July and we will have 14 training sessions before our first game of the season, we have introduced some Wednesdays' this year which will be important to us as a team and we have organised five games. The training sessions last two hours each night they are in, except for a couple of Saturdays when we are not playing we will be looking to do a double session. Outside of the early stamina work we do a lot of sessions with the ball which is important to us and a lot of work can be achieved using the ball, all the players are aware of the sessions they will be doing each night / day they are in as it has been distributed to them.

3. Does holiday's cause a problem in preparation for some players?

To be honest it does but it cannot be helped, it is part of the non league life. It is the only time for some families to go away and you have to understand this,  for most it is their break from working all year and it is refreshing for them, again I believe most are sensible, it is important they enjoy their holiday's I  have no problem in that.

4. We have only 5 games this pre-season can you tell us why and the why the choice of opposition?

I feel we have an established squad and for that reason there was no need to organise 8 plus games to look at a large number of players as we are only looking for two or three players to join us and it means we can work immediately with the players we have. However closer to the season starting there are always one or two surprises that occur that can change your squad. The two home games are all against full time opposition and should see us attract some decent crowds to help towards the seasons coffers. Bury always bring their full contingent of players down and it is always a testing game both in physical and ability terms. Manchester City will be bringing their next crop of youngsters from their impressive academy and it will be interesting to see the level of ability these youngsters posses compared to ourselves, we could be seeing a premiership player of the future on show. Our three away games are against non-league opposition Ramsbottom will provide a good test for us and it is a game that will be good for both clubs and supporters, an entry into new territory sees us travel to Loughborough Dynamo from the south division it gives us an opportunity to test ourselves against new opposition and finally our good relationship with Ashton sees us visit them and they have some experienced non league performers and it will be a good outing the last Saturday before the season starts.

5. Are the results important in pre-season?

Of course you don't like to lose any game and winning is a habit, but you would not pitch yourself against full time opposition if you had fears of losing. It is about the level of both performance and fitness and we have a good enough mixture of games to ensure we reach both levels before the season starts.

6. Speaking of players who has left the club?

Eddie Stanford has left the club of his own choice, we could not agree a way forward, Eddie did well for us and we gave him the freedom to play which resulted in the goals he scored from midfield, he was never a problem, conducted himself very well and of course we wish him the best of luck in his search for pastures new. Mark Connor who only joined us at the latter end of the season has also left the club via his own choice and moved to Mossley.  Lloyd Rigby who was on loan to us has returned to Stockport County and Matt Carlisle who also only joined us at the latter end of the season  has left and is attending trials for some league clubs in the hope of gaining a full time contract. So really in terms of regulars who were signed to us only Eddie has left us.

7, What about young players who may send you CV's?

The club have a lot of enquires, as you do each summer, we have organised two games for us to look at players in the right environment, if gives them the opportunity to express themselves and allows us first hand to see them play rather than just training. If they make an impression in the game we will invite them down to join in the training.

8. Are you happy with the squad and can they continue their form from the second half of the season?

The club has a reputation for not having a high turnover of players, so we have a good base of players to start with, I am happy with the squad, we get excellent value for money and fantastic commitment, of course we would like to add further and hopefully in time we will, we recognise we need to add two or three players but they have to fit into a tight budget we have. We can continue the form and that is what we will be looking to achieve, we actually played well in the first part of the season, but the killer touch we had in the second part of the season was missing. It is important we finish off the football we produced with goals as we did in the second part of the season.

9. Have you been given an increased budget?

No we haven't but that is something we accept and I would be lying if I said it was not frustrating. I  know we could attract players to the club, but the club are being very sensible in their approach to the finances and you have to respect that, also let's not forget we have some terrific young players at the club and we are confident we can compete again this season, the club are excellent in other ways in dealing with the players which they respect and appreciate, that is why there is always a strong base at the club.

10. Early predictions for ourselves and the opposition?

I have no reason to think we cannot continue to progress, we have some very good players, we will quietly go about our business and see where that takes us. It will be a difficult season and a number of teams will fancy their chances, it looks like it could be quite an open league. The usual suspects will be there, but an outsider who has not challenged over the past few seasons I feel could come through this season.