Badshot Lea manager Gavin Smith was delighted with his side’s performance after they beat Southern League Premier South outfit Chertsey Town 4-1 in a pre-season friendly at Westfield Lane.

“Pre-season is not always about the result but it’s good to get a 4-1 win,” said Smith. “We’re looking for the players to be listening and implementing what we want. I’ve got to say that’s probably the best performance I’ve seen from a team that’s played for us. Both halves were good – the second probably better than the first. I thought we were fitter, sharper and hungrier, and made Chertsey look very average. It’s really positive from our point of view.

“We’ve had some good teams, some very good teams. We’ve lost some very good players over the years. They’ve all done well for us and we’ve had some good performances but I haven’t seen a team pass the ball like that with such quality in our time. They’ve got some big shoes to fill because we’ve lost some very good players.

“Chertsey probably should have scored a couple more goals. We’ve rode our luck a little bit but I also feel we probably could have scored more. There’s things we still need to work on – people switching off and not quite grasping what they’re being asked. If we can get them right on it and always being switched on then I don’t think we’ll have a problem.”

Smith is casting his eye over a number of trialists and has some tough decisions to make as he looks to build his squad for the new campaign.

“The decisions are getting harder and harder because people are coming in and doing a job and excelling,” said Smith. “We’ve got a lot of decisions to make, which is hard. I can’t look at anyone and say they’re not good enough. If anything the only thing is there might be someone who’s just a little bit better than them or has done a bit better.

“There are going to be some tough calls and some harsh chats to have but I can’t knock what all of them have put in to pre-season and the way they’ve turned up so far. We’ve got to build from that now and keep building momentum. They’re a really young bunch. They’re listening to Vic Ocansey, doing what’s asked of them, and enjoying playing their football. Our philosophy is enjoying having the football and doing something a little bit different to what other teams do.

“We’ve got to try to do what we think is right for how we play and what we think will be successful going forward. It’s going to be tough to make those decisions. It’s never nice but it will be the right decision for us and the right decision for them because it means they can then go and find some football elsewhere. We’re in a way better place than we were this time last year.”