We're over it: Promotion heartache is history for Hinshelwood

Adam Hinshelwood says the Rebels are over their promotion heartache

But with the new season just a few weeks away, manager Adam Hinshelwood has insisted his players are over the ‘disappointing’ end to the season and eagerly awaiting the chance to build on a promising 12 months.

“We’re looking forward to another good season where we’ll get more out of it and hopefully see some improvement,” said Adam.

“We’ve got consistency with the same squad as we had last year and hopefully the players will take a lot of belief from last season’s performances.

“They know now that they can challenge at that end of the table.”

Worthing’s young, talented squad have given their manager confidence that they can go on to even better things this season.

Championship contenders Brentford snapped up teenage midfielder Fin Stevens at the end of last month and that’s seen as a clear sign of the quality coming through the ranks.

Hinshelwood said there might be one or two new signings, but insisted maintaining the togetherness of 2019-20 was key to success this time around.

“The team support and the attitude of the players has been our biggest strength,” he said. “They are a really determined group.

“If they weren’t in the team they would have themselves doing extra running.

“I think that was the big factor in last season’s success, alongside the quality we have through the team.

“That togetherness and the way they went about their business – the determination really rubbed off on the group.” Full pre-season training got under way on Tuesday as the six-week countdown to the next campaign began.

Four months of lockdown has posed a challenge to teams at all levels of the game, with players forced to take extra responsibility for their fitness.

Worthing’s players may not have the home gyms and personal trainers of their Premier League counterparts, but Hinshel-wood said there was no sign of lockdown complacency.

“The boys have been keeping things ticking over and they’re a relatively fit group anyway, but we’ll put them through their paces for the first few weeks,” he said.

“That attitude set us apart last year and they look like they’ve kept themselves fit and healthy.”

The manager said Worthing would play five or six friendlies for his players to shake off any cobwebs. And with the memories of last season’s table-topping performances still fresh in their heads, the 2020-21 season looks set to be one of rich promise.