As the first team returned to the Airfield for the first time since March, Manager Steve O'Shaughnessy spoke about how the first phase of pre season has gone.
As the FA Wales annouced the move to Phase 2 proticol that began on Monday (10th August), old and new faces at the club can now train in two groups of 15.
The boss explained how he has felt about a rather different pre season so far.
"We have a lot of lads here (training), it's totally different from the last time we were down here last season. With Covid and everything else that's been put in place, it's a bit strange, but the lads are looking forward to the sessions."
The playing and coaching side of the squad has seen some changes over the Summer, including the addition of Jamie Crowther, who has joined the club on a player/coach role. Added to that with addition of Leuan Hewitt, Jake Eyre, Stuart Jones and academy players moving up to the first team.
"This year it will be a lot like two seasons ago. It's not going to be a big squad, we will be relying on the academy players who came through two seasons ago. But at the moment I'm quite happy with the squad we have got at the moment."
Over the last few years, countless Airbus academy players have successfully made the jump to the first team showing the calibre of our youth set-up. Players such as George Peers, Owen Payne, Oli Lanceley and Iwan Jones have all stepped up.
"It's been a massive help for us (the academy), especially here last season. They come in and did a good job and have been rewarded. A lot of clubs have been watching and interested in them. They decided to stay and hopefully they will help us through next season."
As we approach the new campaign and our return to Tier 2, many of our Cymru North rivals have experience playing in the Cyrmu Premier or the formerly known Welsh Premier, including Bangor, Llandudno, Prestayn and Colwyn Bay.
So, how does O'Shaughnessy view the level of opposition and what impact that could have on our chances of promotion?
"It's going to be tough again! It was tough two years ago, I thought it was tough last year. Prestayn walked away with it. They are really going to be up for it this year, especially not getitng promoted. Colwyn Bay, Bangor there's a lot of massive teams in the league this year, it's going to be a really hard task for us to win it, but we will give it a really good go."
Keep your eyes peeled for more updates from the first team as we get closer to the new season.
Matt Baldwin - Airbus Media
