MANAGER Gari Lewis admits there’s plenty of work to be done as his Penrhyncoch side prepare to open their Huws Gray Cymru Alliance campaign against Porthmadog at Cae Baker on Saturday (ko 2.30pm).

Pre-season has been far from ideal, with the Roosters losing three of their four friendlies, the last being when they went down 3-2 at home to Lock Stock Welsh Alliance side Penrhyndeudraeth.

Despite taking a two goal-lead with a brace from Jonathan Evans on an excellent Cae Baker surface, the hosts ultimately paid the price for individual errors.

The visitors looked the stronger and more hungry, and hit back to deservedly take the spoils, with the winner eventually coming in the closing moments.

“We’ve lost three of our four friendlies, and the one we did win against Berriew, we did not play well,” admitted Lewis.

“Some of the boys are way out of nick at the moment. There’s a lot of work to be done, but we will train hard this week.

“It’s going to be test against Porthmadog as this league is the strongest it has ever been. It’s moving forward all the time, but I will try to get 11 players on the pitch that can get a good result on Saturday.”

Skipper Owain James will miss the first four games through suspension, while Steff Davies (knee cartilage operation) and Matt Mousley (broken foot) also face several weeks out.

Defender Jon Foligno will have a fitness check on a head wound which he picked up during pre-season, while Liam Doherty is away.

“We’ve lost some players during the summer, we’ve also got injuries at the moment, so it has been tough, and it may be that I need to bring in one or two more bodies in the next few weeks,” added Lewis.

The Roosters, who finished a commendable ninth last season, will visit Holywell Town the following Saturday.