Shildon player-manager Danny Moore says that promotion is the Railwaymen’s only aim as they kick off the EBAC Northern League season against West Auckland on Saturday.

Shildon were standing in second place and on the verge of an automatic promotion to the Northern Premier League when Covid came along and forced the abandonment of last season, and Moore said: “There’s going to be a lot of prioritising by several clubs this season, and our sole aim is to make sure we win promotion.

“We’ve got a tough start to the season with games against West Auckland, Hebburn, North Shields, Consett and Northallerton, and if we win three of those five, then we’ve got a springboard for the rest of the season. These are the games we want, sometimes it’s hard to get going against the lesser teams.”

Moore hasn’t done much strengthening to his squad, with striker Michael Sweet coming from Blyth on a permanent basis, while defender Alex White has signed from Whitby.

However, he knows that they must perform better than in their 3-0 FA cup defeat at Stockton Town in midweek.

West, meanwhile, were ninth in the table and out of the promotion running when last season ended, and manager Gary Forrest said; “We need a much better start than last year, but we got much better after ten games, and lost only two in 23 games. We struggled for goals last season but in this pre-season we’ve scored plenty of goals in friendly matches.

“Everyone needs to catch Stockton who were very good last season and made big signings in the summer.”

Forrest has signed former Hartlepool defender Evan Horwood, plus Kyle Fryatt and Michael Hoganson from Bishop Auckland, Callum Patton and Luke Bythway from Whitby, Jordan Blinco from South Shields and Jonny Ball.

However, Nathan Fisher will be missing for several months because of injury, while Chris Hunter, Andre Bennett and Horwood are also missing.

West came from behind to win 3-2 at Heaton Stannington in the Cup in midweek.

Bishop Auckland, who are at home to Northallerton, lost their prolific striker Andrew Johnson to Seaham during the summer, but they replaced him with Craig Hutchinson, who scored over 50 for Billingham Town two seasons ago. Hutchinson has arrived from Guisborough, and he joins his former teammates Liam Hogan, Jack Connor, Jamie Davis, Kris Summers and Lee Moore at the club.

Manager Ian Chandler said; “We’re hoping that the combination of Chris Winn and Craig Hutchinson will be very fruitful for us. Both are very strong and skilful players, and hopefully they’ll work well together.”

Bishops had a last gasp penalty win over Hall Road Rangers in midweek, and they will be missing Callum Munro today because of suspension, while Hogan will have a fitness test.

Northallerton were bottom of the table when football stopped last season, and were reprieved from relegation. They lost 4-1 at home to Billingham Town in the Cup in midweek.

They signed Brad Plant and Lee Brockbank from Marske during the summer, as well as ex Guisborough pair Tommy Marron and Mattie Crust, while striker Micky Rae arrived from Sunderland RCA.

Newton Aycliffe head to Tyneside in order to take on North Shields, and they include new signing Ben Dibb-Fuller from Hebburn, as well as former Bishop Auckland striker Arran Wearmouth, who has come from Marske United.

The team that they’ll all have to beat is Stockton Town, who were just a handful of points away from the title and automatic promotion until they were denied by Covid.

They have made a big signing in midfielder Shane Henry from Spennymoor, while former Darlington midfielder Tom Portas has signed from West Auckland. Defender Dale Mulligan has also returned to the club from Shildon.

They have a local derby at home to Guisborough, and manager Micky Dunwell said; “After the midweek win over Shildon, I don’t think we have a hangover from the disappointment of last season.”

In the second division, Durham raised a few eyebrows during the summer by appointing former Celtic defender Didier Agathe as their new manager, with former Blyth boss Tom Wade helping him out.

Agathe has recruited several foreign Academy players, and it will be interesting to see how they cope with the demands of the second division.

They have a groundsharing derby at Willington, who had a good season last time round to finish midtable, and they have strengthened their squad by signing Lewis Martin, Josh Reay, Gavin Cains, Aidan Fletcher, Declan Moss, and Brad Wilson.

Manager Ibby Hassan said; “This anomaly of a season is going to be strange for everyone, I expect that there will be occasions when games are cancelled due to Covid positive tests, so it’s important that we get a semblance of normality to get the lads playing their best football. It’s important for the communities to get out and support their teams too.

“I’m confident we’ve improved our squad from last season, and really can’t wait to get our footballing Saturdays back.”

Crook Town were on course for promotion last season until Covid intervened – they were third in the table with a four-point breathing space on the teams chasing them. They have signed Dale Elgie (Willington), Dan Myers (Billingham Synthonia), Harrison Scott (Chester-le-Street), Jamie Tumilty (Bishop Auckland), and Jay Wilson, who was once at Middlesbrough.

Manager Jamie Tunstall said; “This is probably the first time in a few years that there’s been some pressure and expectation on the club. There are lots of good teams at this level, so we must roll our sleeves up again and prove we’re good enough to warrant being one of the top sides. We’ve largely kept the same group of players and added more quality to an already strong squad. We’re hoping for another successful campaign.”

Crook have a big home game today against Redcar, who were ahead of them when last season abruptly ended.

Chester-le-Street never really threatened the front runners last season, and they’ll be hoping for more consistency this time round.

They’ve signed Josh Akal from Washington, Fraser Colling from Tow Law and Matthew Keough from Durham university.

Manager Colin Wake said; “We would like to be more competitive than last year as we were very inconsistent.

“Hopefully, we will strengthen in the forward areas and are more resolute and harder to break down which will give us a fighting chance. Our aim initially is to get off to a solid start and see where it takes us with no pressure from the club on top three finishes.” Chester start their fixtures at Sunderland West End.

Esh Winning and Brandon meet in a local derby at Waterhouses.

Esh manager Tony Boakes has been busy, bringing in Craig Hindmarch, Kyle Spencer, Chris Stephenson, Nathan Burrell, and Jamie McLeod, while Joe Lilley and Connor Slack have come from Sunderland Under 23s. “Hopefully, we can start the season well, but our September schedule is brutal.”

Just like Durham City, Brandon avoided relegation last season because all the results were expunged, and they’ll be hoping to avoid another season of struggle, especially as relegation will probably take place this season.

Tow Law have a tough away game at Newcastle University, and they include new signings Johnson Ballan from Newton Aycliffe and Arron Willoughby from Hartlepool in their squad, but Ryan McKinnon, Joel Pearson and Lewis Milner are all missing.

Consett are hoping to reach the FA Vase final when they face Bitton from the Western League at Belle View.

Hebburn, meanwhile, make the long journey to Kent for their away game against Corinthian. They have been given the go-ahead to include former Darlington striker Amar Purewal in their squad, even though he has played for West Auckland earlier in the competition. He will probably play alongside another former Darlington player Graeme Armstrong.

The revised draw for the preliminary round of the FA Cup to be played next Saturday is: Whitley Bay v Dunston, Penrith v West Allotment, Kendal v Bishop Auckland, West Auckland v Ashington, Billingham Town v Stockton Town, Crook Town v Marske united, Thornaby v Sunderland RCA, Frickley v Newcastle Benfield, Hebburn v Pontefract Collieries, Guisborough v Tadcaster, Consett v Ossett United