Bartlett happy to have a settled squad as March Town United prepare for “landmark occasion” against Wisbech Town

March Town United manager Chris Bartlett hopes his side with rise to a “landmark occasion” when they take on Wisbech Town on Saturday.

The BKD Cup clash has added significance this year - it is held on the day the Hares clubhouse opens for business.

March have made one signing this summer - highly rated striker Matt Barber, who turned down other offers to join the Hares from Peterborough Sports.

For Bartlett, the most important thing has been retaining the squad which showed so much potential last season - something he has achieved.

He said: “Matt Barber brings pace and footballing intelligence. He is very quick footed and for someone so young (24), he has a lot of experience at this level of football.

“By and large we have retained the squad from last year, which is a pretty good achievement. Dan Woods turned down some good offers to stay with us, Matt Barber had some much better offers but chose us. It shows the players are buying in to what we are trying to do.

“We are not in a position to go shopping - we simply can’t compete with other sides in terms of money. We’ve got some very good young players and we don’t want to overlook them by bringing in players who cost a lot of money and may not achieve what you had hoped.”

Bartlett knows his side faces a tough challenge against an impressive looking Wisbech Town, but he has backed his players to deliver on a massive day for the club.

He said: “Wisbech have assembled a very good squad so we know how tough it’s going to be.

“It’s a landmark occasion for the club. A lot of people have put in a lot of tireless work to get us to this stage and we need to rise to the occasion and give the performance they deserve.”