Bracknell have the luxury of two home games in succession to kick start their season as they host newly-promoted Milton United on Saturday before entertaining Thame United on Tuesday evening.

It has been a successful pre-season for the Larges Lane outfit with just one loss in seven outings so far.

But Carpenter admits that although it is helpful to be in good form going into the season, the real business starts on Saturday as far as he’s concerned.

“It’s been a good pre-season,” said the Robins boss. “But you never know which teams have weakened sides and their fitness so it has to be taken with a pinch of salt.

“Of course it’s pleasing to be going into the season in good form but it counts for very little once the season is underway.

“I said before that it was a relief to get my first win in pre-season as there is always a bit of pressure as a new manager but it’ll be a relief to get my first win and the first three points of the season on the board.

“We know Wokingham & Emmbrook are a good side but Milton finished above them to win a tough Division One East last season so it’ll be a tough game but we feel we’re prepared and hopefully we can use our good form to secure a positive result.

“It always helps to have home games and I’ve got a target in mind for what I want from the two games but they’ll both be tough and I’m not going to shout about what I want as it can come back to bite you.

“But we know what we want from the games and the players will know what we want so hopefully we can achieve that.” The Robins are preparing for life without star man Sam Barratt at the moment as the midfielder is currently training with Maidenhead United.

Barratt spent time on trial at Slough Town and is now spending time training with Conference South outfit Maidenhead before deciding which path he would like to take.

“I’ve not spoken to Sam in a couple of weeks,” added Carpenter. “He’s a Bracknell player still but we can’t see him playing here next season so it’s up to him where he’d like to go.

“But Sam is contracted to the club and we won’t be letting him go on the cheap. We’ll be looking for some sort of reward whether that’s financial or a pre-season friendly, anything that can generate financial income for the club.” BRACKNELL Town ended a productive pre-season campaign with a hard-fought 3-2 victory against Penn & Tylers Green on Saturday.

The Robins suffered a pre-match blow when star striker Shane Cooper-Clark was injured in the warm-up, but this allowed young Ebenezer Opoku-Ware to shine as he stepped up by scoreing once and setting up the other two in a lively performance.

Khalid Senussi almost opened the scoring in the third minute as he curled just wide right but he did open the scoring two minutes later as Opoku-Ware nudged the ball beyond the right back and Senussi was able to poke home beyond the goalkeeper.

Penn & Tylers gradually worked their way into the game and should have equalised on 23 minutes when a shot struck Sam Tighe, with the same attacker then lashing his volley up against the crossbar.

Tom Nugent extended the Robins lead in the 36th minute, after Opoku-Ware’s ball allowed him to send a trademark header over the goalkeeper and into the back of the net.

Opoku-Ware was involved in everything and shortly after he should have won a penalty after being taken out by the goalkeeper but the referee waved away the vociferous appeals.

Penn pulled a goal back in the 52nd minute as they used an overlap on the left wing to get past Josh Whiting, with a low cross turned in by Danny Jordan at the far post.

A superb goal on 72 minutes saw the Robins extend the lead, created after Dan Broadbear released Jamie Lawlor, who then delivered a low cross which Opoku-Ware fired home from close range.

A rare Josh Whiting error allowed the Uhlsport Hellenic League Division One East side to close the gap once again as his back pass to James Hawtree sold the goalkeeper short, and Jonathan Feaver was able to nudge the ball past Hawtree before tapping into an empty net.

With no further goals, Bracknell Town held on to secure the win but although their attacking play was very good, the defending was not so convinving at times and will need to be worked on ahead of the start of the league season.

The victory means the Robins have won four, drawn two and lost one of their pre-season fixtures to set themselves in good stead for Saturday’s league opener against Milton United at Larges Lane.

Thame United then visit on Tuesday as the Robins open their campaign with two home matches.