Alton manager Kevin Adair was pleased with his side’s performance after they beat Wessex League Premier Division outfit Laverstock & Ford 1-0 in a pre-season friendly at Anstey Park Enclosure.

Perry Coles scored the only goal of the game in the 89th minute with a superb free kick which found the top right-hand corner of the net, and Adair was full of praise for Coles after his late winner.

“The reason the guy is here is because he is a natural goalscorer,” said Adair. “He will score goals. He's got great ability. It's a good finish and it's a goal that's worthy of winning any game.

“I think we were much better than Laverstock in the first half. They then shaded probably 25 to 30 minutes of the second half, but when we settled back down after the substitutions we regained a bit of control and we probably looked the more dangerous side in the last ten to 15 minutes.

“In the first half we got eight crosses in. Not that they were any good, but they were crosses and that's something we sometimes struggle with.

“We set up in a slightly different way in the first ten minutes. It got us control of the game and was difficult for them to defend against. We'll probably look to work on that because it's not something we've done before and the lads seemed to like what we did.

“It's difficult because they have to make decisions on the pitch at the same time as trying to follow instructions. Sometimes you've got to let them work it out for themselves. It's promising from where we were three weeks ago.”

This summer has been a rebuilding job for the Brewers, with a number of key players departing, but Adair is happy with how his squad is shaping up.

“We've had to rebuild again – we've had a lot of departures over the summer which we often do,” said Adair. “It's part of the deal here that we have to keep rebuilding each year, but we're in a better position at this stage this season then we were at this stage last season.

“Laverstock was probably our best pre-season performance as a team, but it also was the first time we didn't look to make numerous changes. We kept a settled side for the first 45 minutes and then only made a couple of changes. It does help the lads playing when we do that, but in pre-season you've got to look at a lot of people.

“I've got to be happy with my group, because it's my group. It can always be better and stronger. People can come here and see what we can offer. If you want to come and enjoy yourself and try to play, we try to give that platform for people.

“Some players we've lost this year have gone up levels and that's not a bad thing – you've got to say that's partly our job done that we're moving them on. Those that move sideways, it's up to them. It's part and parcel of this level of football.”

Alton finished in seventh place in the Combined Counties Premier Division South last season and just missed out on a place in the play-offs, and Adair is hoping his side can challenge again this season.

“Our aspirations have got to stay the same – we still want to try to be up near the top,” said Adair. “It's just can we get the group to gel quicker than we did last year. Picking up 11 points in 11 games is where the downfall came last year, so we need to get going a bit quicker this year.

“We'll take each game as it comes and hopefully we can compete like we did last year. We've got to be aiming to be up there, otherwise there's no point taking part. You don't attract players by saying we're going to try to finish 16th.

“You've got to wait until September or October to see where everyone else is before you start gauging yourself. I can see how good my group is, but I don't know how good 19 others are.”