Play-off finalists will give Chorley a tough start say boss Preece

The visitors to Victory Park were beaten play-off finalists last season, losing out to Kidderminster Harriers on the final as they aimed to reach non-league's top tier.

They finished fourth in the regular season, overcoming Gloucester and Chester in the play-off quarter-final and semi-final respectively.

So the Magpies boss knows his side will have to hit the ground running.

They completed their pre-season warm-up on Tuesday with a 5-3 win against Manchester City’s Under-21s with goals from Louis Britton, Jack Hazlehurst, Cian Spencer-McDermott, Justin Johnson and an own goal.

And Preece said: “Tonight I thought the lads were fantastic – some great performances.

"Some of our lads are the same age as those lads and they showed they can compete.

"I thought we were really ruthless in front of goal, our pressing was fantastic.

"You can see the quality in their team so for us to be able to get a performance and a result like that was fantastic.

"A great crowd, it was a great atmosphere and hopefully the majority will come again on Saturday because we really need them against Brackley.”