Head coach Seaman confident of good campaign for Gale Street club

Barking head coach Nigel Seaman believes the summer signings the club has made will help to push them on in London One North this season.

The Gale Street outfit begin their campaign on Saturday with a tough trip to Amersham & Chiltern, who were relegated from the National Leagues last year.

But after finishing in the top half of the table last season, Seaman, who has taken over from Steve Wagstaff as head coach, is confident of doing even better this time around.

“We’re hoping to build on what we achieved last year. There’s greater depth in the squad now that we have brought some new players in,” said Seaman.

“Jamie White has joined from Basildon, we’ve got the Baird brothers (Adam and Peter) in too. Sean Mullins is another new face, while Francis Ambrose has returned after a couple of seasons away from the club.

“We had a bit of momentum last year with a greater number of players coming to training at the end of last season.

“I will have some difficult decisions to make which I suppose is a good thing because it shows there is more competition for places, something which we haven’t had for a while.”

Barking’s performances last term were built around a strong showing in the pack, which Seaman says will still be a feature of their games this season.

But the new head coach also believes there will be plenty of opportunity for his backs to show their quality, adding: “We were good at the set-piece last year and we still are if pre-season is anything to go by, but we have a lot more backs this year.

“Joe Touma has moved from number eight to centre and has stepped his game up. He’s lost some weight to play that position and is learning fast.

“Ben Lloyd has also stayed at the club, which is testament to him because he sees the potential we have to do well this season. We’ve developed an expansive game over the summer.”

Seaman’s move to head coach is not the only change in leadership at Gale Street ahead of the new season, with Nathan Barham announced as the club’s new skipper.

And the head coach is confident the prop will prove successful in the role.

“Nathan will be our captain this year and he understands what it means to play for the club,” added Seaman.

“He’s a good leader and it will be a good appointment for the club and for him. He stuck by us through some hard times.”