by Richard Lusmore
New Easington United manager Karl Atkin said he was “really encouraged” by the attitude of his players during last week’s first pre-season training session.
Some 30 players were present at Thursday’s opener, with even more hopefully set to attend this week’s sessions, on Tuesday at Patrington and tonight at Low Farm, as the Eastenders begin their countdown to the new campaign. Andy Graham and Mark Richardson endorsed their manager’s view, saying that there had been a sense of real positivity oozing through the various drills and exercises.
At the start of the evening, the general manager Craig Foster took time out to publicly thank Craig Smalley, Adam Jamieson and Ash Snaith for their efforts last season, before introducing Atkin to the players, along with Mark Waites who has joined John Harrison as part of the new reserve team management set-up.
Atkin again spelt out his ambitions for the club, along with his expectations when it comes to the players under him. Harrison too was keen to ensure nobody is under any illusions about what needs to be done over the coming season.
Last week’s gruelling first session ended with presentation of trophies to some of the winners who missed the club’s recent awards evening. These were Ashton Palmer (the Doug Clubley Trophy for Most Promising Young Player), Cal Burden (first team Manager’s Player) and Oli Bewell (first team Player of the Year). After tonight, the players will have three more sessions before an in-house game on Thursday, July 24, ushers in the opening friendlies.
The following week, Hedon Rangers visit Low Farm on Tuesday, July 29, before Saturday, August 2 sees a two-team trip to Sheffield & Hallamshire League side, Denaby Main. Aldbrough United come to Patrington on Tuesday, August 5, with Kingfields visiting Low Farm the following Saturday (9th).
Another two-team affair, away at Leven Members Club (Tuesday, August 12) will then provide Atkin with his last look before the start of the new Right Car East Riding County League Premiership Division campaign the following weekend.
Chances to impress will still come for some of those missing the initial cut, given friendlies arranged on the opening day against Kingswood United (home) and Hedon Rangers Academy (away), at East Side AFC on Tuesday, August 19, and at Cross Keys on Wednesday, August 27.
The month – and the pre-season schedule – is then brought to a close with the Andy Martin Memorial game at home to AFC Skirlaugh on Friday, August 29, followed the next day by a visit to Patrington by Sporting Club Hull. One thing Atkin was keen to avoid when scheduling these games was designating them to specific teams.
Of course, while some obviously appear to be tougher than others, the new manager wants to further the one-club ethos by ensuring that any player is capable of being selected for any of the three teams on any given date.
Away from the action, work has begun in fitting the kitchen for the new clubhouse facility, while the new shower cubicles for the changing rooms have been delivered and await installation. Frustratingly, the new protective jacket for the changing rooms is still to be fitted, with the club waiting on fulfilment of a sponsorship pledge that covers the cost. The hope is that this can still be done before the first pre-season game against Hedon.
More mundane tasks around the ground will hopefully get completed on Saturday, July 19, when the latest A Day on the Farm event takes place. The following Thursday sees the Eastenders’ 2025 annual general meeting taking place in the clubhouse.
Unfortunately, the latest social and fundraising committee event, the darts night in the Granby, which was set to take place this Saturday night, has had to be postponed. It’s hoped to rearrange it for a date in September.
Finally, we have various sponsorship packages open across the board in 2025-26. Any business or individual interested in supporting the club this way is invited to get in touch. You can email the club at [email protected] or message us on any of our social media pages.
For up-to-date news, check out our club website at easington-united.co.uk, along with our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages (@EasingtonUtd) or on TikTok at @easingtonunitedafc.