Staveley Miners Welfare looking forward to Rossington Main test as 'juggling' act continues

Marshall admits that 'things couldn't have been worse' for the club this summer after cases of COVID-19 in the camp disrupted pre-season.

But now he is looking forward to his side travelling to face Northern Counties League Division One side Rossington Main this Saturday (KO 3pm) ahead of the Vase contest against AFC Darwen seven days later.

"Things could be better, we've had a couple of cases of COVID in the camp and preparation couldn't have been any worse really," Marshall said.

"Obviously we've lost a couple of weeks of football and what could have gone wrong has gone wrong. But you move on.

"We're ok now. The first one was a bit of a shock as, in football terms, there wasn't that many out there."

Marshall suggests that teams are 'going to have to accept' that the campaign will be disrupted by COVID-19 for the forseeable future.

That was the case for the Trojans as they were beaten 2-0 in the FA Cup's extra-preliminary round by United Counties League Premier

Division outfit Lutterworth Town last Tuesday.

"Unfortunately, we started later and then to get the cases, we did we shut down for a couple of weeks and it was awful," Marshall said of the build-up to that game.

"We came back and within a week we were having to play an FA Cup game, which wasn't ideal as we couldn't train.

"Preparation was awful. But it was a one-game shootout. We were nowhere near it and unfortunately we lost. But out preparation now is for the FA Vase."

It may have been a frustrating pre-season so far, but a pragmatic Marshall hopes this weekend's contest will be another step in the right direction.

"They are going to be up for it," he said.

"We've not actually managed to put out, realistically, the side that if I had to pick to play a game tomorrow, I'd pick.

" They haven't played together yet, through various things, but that's football.

"It's a juggling game of getting people fit. We're there and thereabouts."