United boss Gary confident Gulls can 'weather' start to season

Seven NLS teams play on 3G or 4G surfaces, including Slough Town and Aveley, where they will travel on August 26 and September 2 respectively.
United are spending their current pre-season training programme on the grass pitches at their Seale Hayne complex near Newton Abbot, and they normally stay there until autumn and winter rain starts to take its toll.
But manager Gary Johnson confirmed that the club will be booking their alternative facility, at South Devon College’s 3G centre at Paignton, much earlier than usual to prepare for the Slough and Aveley (Essex) matches.
“We’ve got that in mind already, and we’re very used to training at South Devon College anyway,” said Johnson. “There won’t be any negatives from us on that score. As it happens, Seale Hayne is looking very good at the moment.”
The other five NLS all-weather grounds are at Eastbourne Borough, Farnborough, Havant & Waterlooville, Maidstone United and Worthing.
The Gulls start their campaign with their second longest trip, to Dover Athletic, on Saturday, August 5, followed by home games against Worthing (Aug 12) and Chippenham Town (Aug 15).
They have been paired with Devon ‘exiles’ Truro City at Christmas - at Plainmoor on Boxing Day and at Truro’s home at Bolitho Park, Plymouth, on New Year’s Day.
All four derbies against Somerset’s Yeovil Town and Taunton Town are midweek fixtures, although the away game against the Glovers is set for Good Friday (March 29).
Torquay opened their pre-season friendly programme with a 5-0 win at Reading Under-21s on Saturday, while Yeovil were winning 4-0 at Newton Abbot’s Buckland Athletic.
“We’re not getting carried away, of course, but I was really pleased with the way it went at Reading, and it’s a bit of a shame that we can’t show the goals to everybody, because every one was quality,”
Johnson added.
United, who had several trialists in their squad, continue the build-up with a second behind-closed-doors game at Bristol City U21s this Saturday. Johnson hinted that it may be nearer the start of the season proper before United complete loan signings who are currently training with their own clubs.
* The National League appear ready to undertake the 2023-2024 season with only 23 ‘Premier’ clubs if Southend United fail to survive a make-or-break week off the pitch. Torquay United fans had hoped for an eleventh-hour reprieve from relegation because of the chaos at Southend, but the Gulls were included in the NLSouth fixture release and, remarkably, the Shrimpers were still in the ‘Premier’.
That’s despite the fact that their players have stayed away from training because of unpaid wages, and most of the club’s backroom and office staff haven’t been paid for three months.
A proposed takeover by the Kimura Group, a City-based investment company, is reported to have stalled over the future of the Roots Hall stadium.
And that deal also hangs on another ‘winding up’ court appearance today (Wed), the fourth that Southend have faced in the last year.
They must clear all their football debts to stay in the NL, who appear to have given the Essex club more leeway than several other troubled outfits have received in the past.