Sam Akeroyd signed for John Reed’s side in November 2014 from NCEL Premier Division side Garforth Town and quickly established himself in the centre of midfield and was one of the first players that re-signed with the 4G Voice and Data Stadium based club. With pre-season well underway Ingfielder spoke to Akkers about the year ahead.

“The friendlies are coming round quick and I can’t wait. Everyone enjoys the first week or two of the off season but the itch soon sets in. I can’t wait to get back to it and show the supporters we're a better team than last year’s league standings showed”.

Pre-season began the first week of June, very early for some but has proven to be popular “Although we were in early it wasn’t what people thought it would be, Franny (John Francis) and Mez (Dave Merris) have us doing a lot of technical and organisational work which is great. Coming into July the fitness work will ramp up and we’ve all got that base fitness there now. Apart from Trigger (Cal Hepworth) who absolutely destroyed the bleep test in the first session back. I wasn’t far behind…”

Sam’s season was cut short by an ankle injury, but there is good news for Town fans as he says “According to the physio I am ahead of schedule, but I can still tell it’s not 100 percent. It still aches a lot after training and swells slightly. With the time I’ve got left I’ll do everything to make sure I’m ready for the new season”.

Looking at the sessions that have taken place so far, has anyone stood out for you? “Everyone has been working hard in training and a few lads wanted to impress. I’m not a big believer in judging people from training, especially so early in pre-season. The real test comes when people can perform in preseason friendlies and show what they're like against teams such as Frickley Athletic and Bradford City so time will tell”.

“It is great that so many are re-signing from last season, we had a good team spirit and everyone always got on. Knowing the main lads are staying to help us progress next year is great, the likes of Daz Lucas, Mez, Steven Jeff and Nathan Curtis to name a few. It’s a shame about Ross Armstrong leaving but on a positive note my back might not go from carrying him this year”.

On a personal level have you set yourself any goals for the new season? “I always try to set goals at the start of each season, it helps you stay focused. Main one for this year is to chip in with a few more goals, ideally midfielder should contribute at least 10 in my opinion. The Gaffer wasn’t worried about voicing his opinions when it came to my goal contribution last year!

Looking ahead to the new Evo-Stik Season, with Darlington 1883 and Salford City promoted does Akeroyd think it will be an easier ride this time round? “Every year there is always one or two stand out teams, usually the ones who are chucking the most money about. Personally, in the games in played in last year, I thought Bamber Bridge and Darlo were the best teams in the league".

"Obviously it didn’t work out for Bamber but they will be well up there this year. The league starts to take shape after around 8-10 games and that’s when we will see who has improved most of the close season”.

“For ourselves 2014/2015 was a massively disappointing season. I know we are a better team than what the league position suggests. Sloppy goals just after half time, or in the last ten minutes cost us something like 15 points. Staying switched on and playing to the death is huge in this league where teams are physical, strong and don’t ever give up.