BALA Town coach Ryan Valentine says that after months of waiting the Lakesiders are keen to finally get their Europa League preparations under way.

Some 94 teams will be in the draw for the first qualifying round today (10 August), and Bala as an unseeded team will either face HSK Zrinjski of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Valletta FC of Malta, or either Lincoln Red Imps of Gibraltar or FC Prishtina of Kosovo.

“Personally, I can’t wait to get started again, and I’m sure every one of the lads is exactly the same,” Valentine said.

“It’s been a long lockdown for everyone, but the return to training in maybe a slightly different format to start with will give everyone a massive boost I’m sure.”

The past couple of weeks has seen much of the Bala squad retained for the forthcoming season, with three four additions in Nathan Peate (Cefn Druids), Alex Ramsey (Caernarfon Town), Will Evans (Cardiff Met) and Llyr Morris (Ruthin Town).

“For consistency and continuity it’s very important to get the majority of lads signed early in any close-season, and I am sure Colin Caton and Stephen Fisher are delighted we have done that.

“As with any summer there’s going to be a few adjustments, and we’ve lost a couple of players ourselves, but I’m sure the new lads will fit into the squad and help us achieve more success.

“I’m sure there will be plenty more work going on during the break, and one or two new faces will join us and make us even stronger.”

Even though there had been no physical contact with the players since March, the Town squad have been keeping in touch regularly, and Valentine expects them all to come back sharp and ready to go into pre-season.

“Although we haad not trained together for a while, it hasn’t meant the work has stopped. We are a tight knit club and there has been lots of Zoom calls and different ideas put together on WhatsApp from the manager which kept us all together," he said.“The lads individually have been superb in looking after themselves, and we’ve had Kizza’s (Kieran Smith) running club challenges, Molly (Lee Molyneux) with his strength and conditioning, and Fish (Stephen Fisher) setting runs. I know when we get back together for training we will hit the ground running.

Valentine said the squad was preparing to come out of lockdown in very different circumstances to normal, with social distancing, and temperature checks taken.

“Obviously we will be in smaller groups to start off with, but there are often times during the season when we do individual unit work, so hopefully it won’t be too unusual for the players to get on with,” he said.

July would normally be around the time when the European games take place, but with the ties now scheduled for the end of August, the Bala squad should have suitable of time to prepare for the one-legged fixture.

“It’s a little frustrating knowing the game won’t be until end of August, but it gives us time now to prepare properly, not just on training pitch,” added Valentine.

“We’ll do everything that needs to be done behind the scenes to make sure that we are prepared as best as we can be for the game, whether that be at home or away.

“I think the one-legged affair (instead of a home and away fixture) should help the home team, but with the possibility of no fans being allowed in the ground I’m not sure how much of an advantage it will turn out to be.

“I just know we will be as prepared as possible to get a result and to get us through to the next round - and we haven’t quite accomplished that yet in the five attempts since I have been at Bala.”Players who have left the Club this summer include Mike Hayes (Caernarfon Town); Josh Tibbetts (Caernarfon Town); Louis Robles (The New Saints); Nathan Burke (FC United of Manchester); Stuart Jones (Airbus UK Broughton) and Ashley Morris (Released).