Barnes face Kew Antigua this weekend a side they also faced last season in the run up to the 19/20 season.
A much changed Barnes side from that day but hopefully a more positive result.
Barnes look to bounce from last Sunday’s pre season defeat to Syndicate in a game that was mentally tiring on the players.
Jacko has been working hard on possession football throughout training and trying to get his players to show some more confidence on the ball.
The gaffer wants his side to be more clinical in front of goal and avoid rueing missed chances like last Sunday. “Last weekend was a disappointing result, despite a much improved performance we were unable to keep Syndicate from scoring 2 goals and didn't capitalise on our chances when they arose.”
As Barnes try to sport a different way of playing Jacko is trying at all costs to get the squad playing the way he wants it. “We need to learn from that and be more clinical, think about the placement off the shot and test the keeper. The same can be said of our passing, more accurate, smarter passing can help us to retain possession for longer and stretch our opposition.”
Despite last Sunday’s closely edged game, Ben made his return and the gaffer was more than happy to see his captain back in the side. “On the positive side, last season's captain, Ben made an impact on his first pre season match of the 20/21 season with a commanding performance in midfield and a goal to boot. As a team we constantly look to improve and hopefully we can crack on with even more improvements in passing and finishing for Sunday's match against Kew Antigua who are a strong, well organised side.”
Barnes have a tight schedule this week with 3 games and some tough opponents but these 3 games will give a good insight into how the squad are going to unfold and develop come the league opener.