Ks boss Tommy Williams has no fear his men will not hit the ground running in pre-season, because he trusts them to keep themselves in shape.

Kingstonian return to pre-season training on July 2 in preparation for their first friendly of the summer at Whtyteleafe on July 11.

Williams has added Ricky Sappleton, Malachi Hudson, Peter Dean, Ty Smith and Richard Jolly to his squad this summer and will spend July running the rule over a select group of triallists hoping to be part of the club’s forthcoming Ryman Premier League campaign.

The manager, who is in the market for a goalkeeper for the start of the campaign to cover Rob Tolfrey's enforced five-game absence, is already excited by what is at his disposal and is looking forward to seeing who impresses him this summer.

And he expects all his squad and his Ks wannabes to be fighting fit.

“Times have changed and players tend to keep themselves in good shape these days,” said Williams.

“Pre-season training will be about getting the players used to twisting and turning again and getting match sharp.

“It is not like years ago when players would come back overweight and need to shift a few pounds.”

He added: “We are still looking at getting one or two more new faces over the line before pre-season.

“We have been very selective on who we invite to trial. Some players have contacted us with their CVs and others we have gone out to invite them down.

“But we are in a good place and looking forward to getting things started again.”

Sappleton’s arrival from Billericay Town means Ks can boast a choice of three proven strikers up front with Jolly and Pelayo Pico Gomez also vying for a starting slot.

The club has a long history of popular and successful front men, when you think of the likes of Dave Leworthy, Bobby Traynor, Ryan Moss and Andre McCollin.

And Williams is pleased to have some strength in depth going forward ahead of the new campaign, which starts on August 8.

“We’re pleased to get Ricky and Richard and you have to remember Pelayo scored 16 goals for us last year and he wasn’t even with us all season,” he added.

“We didn’t like playing against Ricky [Sappleton] last year, so I’m delighted to have him on our side this time – especially as there were plenty of other clubs interested in signing him.”