DEFEAT IS A POSITIVE FOR BOSS JOHNSON

PAUL Johnson watched his Farnham Town invincibles being put through their paces during a tough pre-season – and reckons it was the best thing that could have happened to them.

- Jon Couch

Well-backed Town have not lost a league game since April 2023 after going through the entire Combined Counties Premier South campaign unbeaten, dropping just four points along the way.

As a result, the Clarets are preparing for Step 4 football for the first time in their history, but a gruelling summer friendly at Cobham, followed by a 4-1 home defeat by Bracknell Town, have certainly given the Surrey club something to think about.

Johnson’s men are expected to be among the front runners in an ultra-competitive Isthmian South Central Division this term, but with big clubs such as Kingstonian, Hayes & Yeading and Leatherhead also harbouring promotion hopes, the Clarets boss welcomes the challenges that a tough pre-season brings.

“It’s a difficult one but, overall, we’ve had a pretty positive pre-season,” Johnson, right, told The NLP.