COLIN Gordon believes new boss Neil MacFarlane will help Harriers find the balance between their expansive football and a much-needed defensive solidity.

The chairman at Aggborough is pleased with how preparations are going heading into the 2018/19 campaign and assured supporters that Reds will keep working hard to unearth more potential stars this summer.

He believes MacFarlane, who came in after working as assistant manager to Steven Pressley at Coventry City and most recently FC Pafos in Cyprus, is more than capable of continuing former boss John Eustace's football philosophy while also finding improvement in keys areas.

He said: "I've known Neil and Steven Pressley for a long time and Neil came into help out for about six weeks when we had a gap between Gary Whild and Dave Hockaday. I've known the way he works, what he does and what his priorities are and we're are not so stupid as not to realise where we needed to improve.

"John was a brilliant coach with the ball but we need to be better without the ball. At this level the opposition don't approach the game the same way we do. They are not looking for great football and to play between the lines, they are looking to get it into your box as quickly as possible and we've got to avoid that happening and not overcommit. The balance between the two, I think, is now near perfect.

"He's a different coach but he's an exceptional coach, so already you can see the difference with the group.

Gordon has been pleased to secure the services of a host of last season's squad and also vowed to replace those who have moved one, most notably skipper Ryan Croasdale, James McQuilkinand Mani Sonupe.

He added: "People need to realise that until we're in a position where we can keep these lads, that is going to happen. If we stop these boys moving on to better things then we're not getting the next one.

"I don't think anyone can argue that 99 times out of a hundred, with the exception of maybe Arthur Gnahoua, who was one of the best players at this level I have ever seen, we've replaced with better.

"Everyone was worried about losing Ousmane and we signed Croasdale. Now we've lost Croasdale but don't worry, we've got it in hand.

"We lost Tunnicliffe, we replaced him with Fraser Horsfall, we lost Keith Lowe and replaced him with Jimmy O'Connor. You can go right the way through the team.

"As we get used to and understand the level more, the more we understand the type of lad that will succeed with us.

"Now, as you saw with the Ashley Chambers interview, players want to come here because of the football we play. Recruitment is far easier than it was. Players are queuing up to come here because they want the same opportunities the lads that have gone on to league football have had

"We've secured the group on longer contracts now, which means commitment from the club but also because we don't want them moving out the door for free. A lot of players left last season and we didn't get the return we should have done.

"Now we're in a better position. We know what we need and it's in the pipeline."