Sileby boss Botterill says Cobblers will get warm welcome at Fernie Fields

BIG DAY AT FERNIE FIELDS - Sileby Rangers boss Glenn Botterill

Botterill wants his men to be competitive without ‘going over the top’ and says Sileby will be doing their best to play some good football against the npower League Two side.

The Cobblers head to Moulton for their first pre-season encounter on English soil, following a 1-0 defeat to a Croatian side in Novigrad last weekend.

Aidy Boothroyd’s men will be looking to mount a renewed promotion push in the coming campaign after losing to Bradford City in the play-off final in May.

Sileby, though, had a happier end to their season, winning UCL Division One, and they are now relishing the chance to test themselves against a Football League outfit.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” said Botterill.

“For a club like Sileby Rangers it’s a big prestige game.

“We’re going to try to play some football and we won’t be kicking people.

“We want Aidy Boothroyd and his players to come and enjoy the game.

“We think they’ll really enjoy our facilities, which are second to none, and we’ll take it as seriously as we can without going over the top.

“We want them to come back every season.”

Botterill has overseen an overhaul of last season’s successful squad with plenty of players coming and going ahead of their upcoming assault on the UCL Premier Division.

The Cobblers clash represents Sileby’s first pre-season test and the home side will be hoping to compete as best they can against what should be a far superior outfit.

“Our fitness will be well behind theirs,” said Botterill.

“We only started back on Tuesday whereas they have been back for a while.

“Our aim will be to see if we can pick up any information from them about how they do things because that can improve us.”

And Botterill is particularly looking forward to tapping into the knowledge of Cobblers boss Boothroyd, a man he holds in high esteem.

“I’ll definitely speak to him,” said the Sileby manager.

“You never stop learning.”

Kick-off at Fernie Fields is at 3pm, and admission is £5 for adults with concessions £2.50.