‘What a position to be in’: Banbury United boss hopeful as Puritans approach season opener
Banbury United get the highly anticipated 2026/27 season underway this weekend as they visit Bishop’s Stortford in the Pitching In Southern League Premier Central.
The Puritans are eager to get the new campaign off to a strong start after maintaining an impressive unbeaten record in pre-season.
Kelvin Langmead’s side won four of their seven friendly matches, drawing the other three. Among those were 3-2 victories over Coventry United and Northampton Town.
It wasn’t exactly a thrilling conclusion to pre-season as Banbury drew 0-0 away at Quorn, however a second successive clean sheet kept the unbeaten run going.
“It counts for nothing if we don’t get a decent result at Stortford and continue that kind of form after that. I’m very aware of that,” Langmead told Puritans Live last Saturday.
“We’re setting high standards and it’s really important that we keep those.”
It has been a summer of change for the Puritans, with nine new signings among the 17-strong first-team squad. Langmead hopes the new group can thrive.
“I’m really pleased with who we have retained and who we have brought in,” Langmead added.
“The off-season is a jungle out there. We call it ‘silly season’ because there’s so much going on and you’re constantly chasing things.
“I’m glad we are out of the other side now and we will do as much prep as we can to give us the best chance of a win.”
As Langmead alludes to, the real work begins now. But Banbury should stand a good chance of three points, especially as the boss feels he has excellent depth to work with.
“We’ve got some (selection) headaches, but what a position to be in where it isn’t set in stone,” the boss continued.
“There are lads who didn’t start (against Quorn) who will be in the thinking.
“It’s sometimes horses for courses. There are things I think we can hurt Stortford with that may not necessarily be from the start, it might be off the bench.
“It is really important that the lads understand that. What a position to be in where I’m looking at my bench and two or three of them will feel aggrieved to be there.”
Banbury’s season opener - at ProKit UK Stadium - gets underway at 3pm on Saturday, August 8.