FRANK Gray is pleased that pre-season is at an end after watching his side concede two bad goals to lose away at Salisbury City in their final friendly.

Basingstoke Town begin their Blue Square South campaign with a home game against Chelmsford City on Saturday – and manager Gray is itching to get into league action.

“We would liked to have finished pre-season with a win but I am pleased it is over and we can get on with the proper stuff,” he said.

“All managers feel the same about pre-season because, whether you win or lose friendlies, it’s all just preparation for the season proper.

“We conceded two bad goals today from our point of view and if it had been a league game, things might have been different.

“I hope we would be tighter on the first goal and for the second, Chris Tardif would probably go through and take everything but because it was a friendly he didn’t want to risk hurting people.”

Gray has added another body to his squad with the addition of New Zealand international striker Greg Draper, who has signed for the club subject to international clearance.

The tall 20-year-old played 90 minutes on Saturday but is a long way from being match-fit, though he showed some decent touches.

“Greg needs to get a few games under his belt but he should be a good acquisition,” Gray said.

“He is a good size and is similar in a lot of ways to Ross Montague, which is the sort of player I think we need.”