PLAYER PREVIEW: Dan Wordsworth ahead of our league opener

Dan Wordsworth says he feels as ‘fit as ever’ going into the new Northern Premier League season.

Wordsworth, heading into his ninth term at Borough Park, ‘can’t wait’ build on a colossal campaign as an almost ever-present.

He was speaking after our 1-3 win at Knaresborough Town in the Emirates FA Cup at the weekend.

Firstly on the Preliminary Round win, Wordsworth admitted our first competitive game of the season wasn’t an eye-catching one.

“It wasn’t the prettiest of games, they never are, we’ve all been there before.

“The pitch wasn’t the best but to see how the lads dug in and get the result, it was all we needed.”

Wordsworth started alongside centre-back partner Sam Smith and the pair were almost their usual imperious as the North Yorkshire side dubious 11th-minute equaliser.

To repeat the excellent defensive term we had last time out, conceding just 22 goals in the division, the 30-year-old knows the unit will have to keep on top of their game this campaign.

“We had a good season last year but like every season, there’s going to be different challenges.

“We’ve got to keep improving, we can’t just rest on what we did last year.

“Although we did well, we’ve got to keep getting better and listening to the management.

“Like today, their striker was a big, solid guy and we’ve just got to work on how to play against those types and so far we’ve done alright.

Moving onto NPL North West curtain-raiser, Wordsworth’s clearly feeling confident in himself and his teammates.

“I’m feeling as fit as I’ve ever felt, to be fair,” he said.

“I’m still stiff after every game but we’ve had a good pre-season the lads are looking ready for it.”

On Saturday’s trip to Pickering Town, Wordsworth kept it short and sweet.

“We can’t wait! All of the lads are buzzing.”

On Friday, we’ll hear from the manager, Danny Grainger, ahead of the match.