MALVERN Town started their pre-season action with a long journey down to Kent to take on Greenways.

While the friendly ended in a 3-1 defeat, co-manager Lee Hooper took plenty of positives from the trip.

“It was a good run-out for our lads,” Hooper said.

“It took us six hours to get down there but we played some good stuff at times and will take plenty of positives out of the game.

“We scored a well-worked goal and it was good to get minutes into the lads and have a look at what some of the new lads are all about.

“There were glimpses of quality on show and even some of the older heads, like myself and Chris Pinder, were able to get some game time.

“It was a great team-bonding exercise which will help the lads gel and add to the team spirit that we already have here.

“Results are not critical but at the same time momentum and a winning mentality is important.”

Town are due to visit Droitwich Spa on Thursday (7.15pm) before games at Boldmere St Michaels on Saturday (2pm) and Bishops Cleeve on Tuesday (7.30pm).

Meanwhile, defender Jay Sauntson is upbeat ahead of the club's move to the Hellenic League.

He said: “There’s a real buzz around the club. Things are really taking off for us both on and off the field.

“We’ve made some good additions to the team and with all the stadium developments everyone is excited by what the future holds in store.

“Both Dene (Whittal-Williams) and Lee (co-managers) are extremely positive and passionate about the club and that certainly rubs off on the lads.

“Pre-season is going well and as far as I am concerned my fitness levels are progressing nicely. I feel fit and strong and ready to get into action.

“It’s hard to know exactly what to expect going into the Hellenic League as it will be new opposition, new pitches and new places to visit.

“Whoever we come up against I always feel we have a good chance of winning the game because of the mentality and work ethic that we have here.

“There’ll definitely be a different style of football in this league which I feel might suit us better in terms of the way we play as I feel that teams will try to get the ball down and play a bit more compared to what we were used to in the West Midlands League.

“I’m really positive about where this group of players can take the club.

"Obviously the ultimate aim is to gain promotion. We had a taste of winning some silverware at the end of last season and now we have to get this club moving up to the next step which is what we deserve."