Landesberg insists he is over the “disappointment” of losing the Open Football at last month’s Maccabiah Games where he was manager of the Team Maccabi GB beaten 3-0 in the final by the USA.
“I’ve not had much time to do too much else other than to focus on the new season with Lions,” said Landesberg. “Pre-season has gone well, with two victories, a draw and no goals conceded.”
Landesberg admits he expects his players to step up in the absence of first-team regulars Josh Kennet, Nick Landesberg, James Gershfield, Max Kyte, Jordan Marks and Harry Hatchwell.
“On one side it’s a bit concerning, but the boys are in good shape. The key to this season is to make themselves hard to beat. We enjoyed a 4-0 win over Woodford Town from the Essex Senior League and the team are looking really good.
Landesberg, who works closely with assistant-manager Darren Yarlett and coach Steve Grenfell led the Lions to the treble last season and he believes momentum will play a part in their success this season.
“We don’t want to stand still,” he said. “We want to keep moving forward. I want us to make ourselves difficult to beat for the first six weeks, although it’s not necessarily in our DNA.
Nick Landesberg is expected to return in the coming weeks, and Landesberg says his Maccabiah players have returned to training “in great condition”.
“There are also people who were not in the Maccabiah with a point to prove, whilst others didn’t get a lot of game-time, so it could be really interesting,” said Landesberg.
Asked for a target for the season, Landesberg replied: “Top six. It would be great to return to the Premier Division before too long.
“Darren and Steve have helped me build the foundations from the academy. We also have a great committee working tirelessly in the background. Now we need to build for the future, starting with the next three years.”
London Lions host St Neot’s Town Reserves at Rowley Lane on tomorrow night in the SSML Division One followed by another home match Codicote on Saturday.
Full interview in this week's JC.
