BLUES boss Neil Young was today counting down the days towards Chester’s first pre-season appearance.

Young admitted he had been pleased with his squad’s pre-season training regime ahead of Saturday’s opening friendly match against Colwyn Bay at Llanelian Road, (3pm kick-off).

And he revealed that he was hoping to secure the services of a striker before his club’s fixture at Evo-Stik League Premier Division hosts, Bay, where he managed last season.

He said: “I’m really looking forward to Saturday’s match.

“The lads have done a lot of running so far in training, but Saturday will be their first real chance of actually enjoying the day job of playing football.

“I’m aware that the Chester fans are excited about the prospect of watching their club in action and that there will be a lot of anticipation from those fans travelling to the match.

“I’ve been impressed with the terrific level of interest from Chester supporters who have boosted season ticket sales to 350, and I’m sure more will be paying a visit to the club shop from tomorrow onwards to buy their season ticket and a replica Chester shirt.

“Steve Ashton and the Chester board have done a great job in marketing the club and its merchandise, and it’s now up to me to do my job and deliver success on the pitch.

“The players have got through a lot of hard work in training and I’m now looking forward to seeing them in action on Saturday against my former club.

“I’m making progress in my bid to add strikers to the squad. I staged more talks with one player last night and feel I’m very close to securing a deal, but I’m still some way off trying to sign the other player.

“It would be good if I can manage to sign one striker before our match at Colwyn Bay this weekend.”

Young, who steered Bay to a promotion campaign last term, admitted he was looking forward to the occasion on Saturday, adding: “I had a very successful time at Colwyn Bay and I’m really looking forward to going back there with Chester.

“Gary Jones and I managed to earn Bay a play-off place in our first season after picking up the reins when the club were third from bottom in the league table.

“But we won promotion last season against all the odds and that success was a stepping stone towards Gary and me getting the job at Chester.

“There are a lot of good people at Colwyn Bay. Their friendliness and openness epitomise the atmosphere of non-league football and Chester couldn’t wish for a better place to start their pre-season.

“I know a lot of Chester fans will be aiming to see us beat Colwyn Bay, and winning is a good habit to get into, but it’s not the most important thing with seven weeks left between now and the start of our season.”