It is now three and a half weeks away until the start of the 2020/21 season where Southampton Women's will be competing in the FA Women's National League Division One South West.

The Reds have taken on a strengthening Fulham side from the London South East Regional Women's Football League and Championship chasing Yeovil Town from the division above.

Manager Aaron Smith is confident in his staff's preparations ahead of another tough year in Tier 4.

He said: "Things are going well, we’ve set out our periodisation for the season and we're ready for the start of the season.

"Last week (the Fulham game) was about people getting 45 minutes under their belts, just blow the cobwebs out having not played for so long.

"Then this week was a little bit more work defensively as we knew Yeovil were going to be strong," he reflects, "and I’m really pleased with the performances we’ve put it especially Sunday gone in the second half.

"There’s still a long way to go but I’m really chuffed with how we’re getting on."

Pre-season is about different things for many managers but for the most part, it is about getting the players mentally and physically ready for the new season.

Several teams were one of two games down by the time the Reds welcomed Fulham to Arlebury Park, however, the manager is happy with his plan of action especially when planning came before the confirmation of the season's start date.

Smith said: "No, I am very confident in our own ability to make sure that we are going to get pre-season right.

"We had plan A, B and C. The league have now released the start date of the season which is our plan A which is exciting but we are ready for the 20th September and we’re on point for it.

"We’re on plan," he confirmed, "I’m really pleased with the progress and the fixtures that we have for pre-season are really difficult.

"I believe that Yeovil and Crawley – who we have this Sunday – are going to be the top two teams in the National League Southern Division next season so I’m really pleased for us to test ourselves against such strong opposition.

"We’ll see and hopefully, we will be ready."

The team are preparing for what is likely to be one of the most competitive years in Division One South West with several teams strengthening.

Part of the focus for Smith and his team is making sure his squad is fit and injury-free especially after the lockdown where women's football was cancelled back in March.

He said: "Now that we’re back on the pitch it’s about injury prevention as these players haven’t done anything for a long period and now, they’re running around.

"I’ve already seen several ACL injuries in the last week in the women’s game and that’s a worry for us, injury prevention.

"Jodie (Burchell) is a great signing for us, it’s just unfortunate that she picked up an injury on Sunday so we’ll see how she is.

"Her's was a tackle, a knock which cannot be prevented but it’s the soft tissue injuries that we are working hard to prevent.

"We’re building it up, we’re not going to go in and overload the players as they’ve done hardly anything for four months.

"But it’s been fantastic to see how they have reacted to it all."

Southampton Women's fixtures for the first-half of the 2020/21 campaign have been released and they will begin the season with an away trip to Buckland Athletic on Sunday, September 2020.