Islanders visit as Preece eyes Hammers tie
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- Published: Thursday, 04 June 2015 10:02
THE Wingmakers return to action on Saturday (June 6) when they host an Anglesey XI at the Hollingsworth Group Stadium (2.30pm).
It is the first step in the preparations for the Europa League, with the draw to be made in Switzerland on June 22.
The visitors are preparing for the International Island Games, which will be held in Jersey starting on June 30.
Meanwhile, director of football Andy Preece admits Airbus landing a money-spinning Europa League tie with Premier League side West Ham would be ‘massive’ for the club.
The managerless Hammers – who finished 12th in the league this season – will be in the first qualifying round draw with Preece’s Wingmakers after topping England’s fair play table,
And the Londoners are the side all three Welsh Premier League teams will be hoping to pull out of the hat.
"West Ham would be great for us, it’d be massive financially," Preece told the Chronicle.
"Wherever we played them you’d hope it’d be a sell-out and we’d love to test ourselves against top class players like they’ve got.
"Obviously we’d have a much better chance of beating a lesser team, but the kind of money drawing West Ham would generate for the club would be huge."
Financial prudence is still high on the agenda for Preece, who told the Chronicle he would not risk the Wingmakers’ future by over-spending this summer.
Airbus did beat strong competition to bring in former Chester FC striker Tony Gray from AFC Telford United, but have seen first-team regulars Ryan Wade and Lewis Short depart, moving to Stalybridge Celtic and Nantwich Town respectively.
Preece does not anticipate further additions other than under-18s from the club’s academy who will be handed senior contracts on the back of a treble-winning season.
The 48-year-old said: "Tony has been our major signing but two have gone out, and giving some of the young lads the opportunity to be part of the squad just shows we’re planning for the long-term.
"We won’t spend stupid money, it’s too risky when you’re trying to build a strong foundation.
"There’s some major money being thrown about by a lot of sides in our league, but only three can qualify for Europe along with TNS so there’ll be some disappointed clubs and backers come next May.
"Tony is on a good deal, don’t get me wrong, but there are teams giving five, six, seven players the kind of money he’s on.
"If we had a bottomless pit and we could afford to lose it I’d be spending big, but we haven’t. It’s not sustainable. We’ve got a similar budget to last year, so we can’t go mental."