THERE’S MOOR TO COME, SAYS MCDONALD
L IAM McDonald says being tipped for the National League drop will inspire his Solihull Moors.
The Moors boss has been busy reshaping his squad with players on the club’s doorstep ahead of his first full season in charge. And he’s happy with the mix he has at his disposal.
“We’ve got a bigger squad and a stronger squad than last season,” McDonald said. “We’re all excited. Obviously if you go by the bookies we’re favourites for relegation. But that will drive us on.
“We know what our target is and I’ve got great belief in our players we can achieve our targets. No one wants to be favourites for relegation. But we’ve got some very good players. Luke Benbow was top-scorer with Stourbridge in the Northern Premier League, Jermaine Hylton is a good signing, Dapo (Afoylayan) was pulling up trees for us last year, we’ve got an England C player in George Carline, Simeon Maye is fast growing into one of the top players in the league – we’re getting better. “Then we’ve added Darren Carter and Paul Green’s experience and we’ve just signed two lads from Birmingham on loan. Connal Trueman was on the bench in the Championship last season and Daniel Cleary is an Ireland U-21 international.”
In his fledgling managerial career, McDonald, 32, has carved a reputation for unearthing gems. At Redditch, he helped Hylton move to the Football League with Swindon.
Now the apprentice is back with the master and McDonald expects him to show what he’s capable of.
“He’s much better than when he left me,” he said. “He didn’t have to drop down into Non-League – he had League One and Two clubs interested. But he knows the way I work, the way I always look after my players to help them improve and progress, he felt it was right for him.
“It’s a massive coup because, in my opinion, he’d walk into all National League teams. He’s scored three in four pre-season starts as well.
“So we’ve done well. We’ve had a good preseason and we’re trying to make sure we’re ready to compete with the full-time teams. It’s a hurdle we’ve got to overcome. I’m sure we’ll do that.”