Leamington will host King's Lynn Town in the Isuzu FA Trophy Second Round Proper.

The tie will be played at Your Co-op Community Stadium on Saturday 16 November. More details TBC.

Leamington's home game against Chester has been selected for broadcast in both the UK and internationally.

The game will be played on Tuesday 19 November, with a 7:45pm kick off at Your Co-op Community Stadium during the international break.

More information regarding the broadcast will be revealed closer to the game. 

A warm welcome to everyone for this evening's Vanarama National League North fixture at our Your Co-op Community Stadium between the Brakes and visitors Southport FC. 

For those of you making the long journey down from the north-west be you player, management, fan, committee or board member or volunteer we hope that you enjoy our hospitality and we wish you a safe trip home.

Speaking of trips, a massive thank you to the 50 odd fans who made the long haul up to South Shields last Saturday with a one nil loss no doubt putting a dampener on the journey home. Players and management were mostly on the road by 7.30am and many did not get home until between 11pm and midnight. Sadly the team played like they were still on the team coach in the first half but responded well in the second half with Cally rattling the bar and putting South Shields on the back foot. The momentum was lost when Will Shorrock was debatedly sent off on the hour mark although the team put in a good performance through to the end.  I believe that is our first sending off in about 18 months which indicates that team discipline has been excellent.

Southport will be another tough encounter particularly as they come to us on the back of three good results. Having said that our home record has been excellent so far this season and hopefully the increased crowd numbers continue and your great support gets us across the line.

Some of you may have noticed that Warwick District Council held a couple of public consultations last week in the Myton area regarding the Myton Footpath and wider Fusiliers Way Master Plan for the community that includes, shops, schools, community facilities, athletics track and the proposed new community stadium. 

In early December Warwick District Councillors will be voting on proposals re the Fusiliers Way Master Plan Development which includes the next steps and funding on the proposed new community stadium for the club.  This is a key stage in the long running proposals and we need your voices to be heard on the benefits to the community and the need for a relocation of the club.  Responses to the consultation have to be submitted by 31 October and we therefore need all of you involved with the club be that fan, player, coach, volunteer or helper to firstly FILL OUT THE CONSULTATION SURVEY as well as write and engage with your local councillor to highlight the massive good work we do in the community and why despite the great work of everyone over the past 24 years there is a desperate need for relocation to ensure the club has a sustainable future and can build upon the building blocks that we have put in place.

As most of already know, our current venue, the development of which has been a huge labour of love by many, is almost totally inaccessible to the community except for those who arrive by car.  There are no public footpaths and cycling is a hazardous existence for anyone brave enough to make the journey down the fast track Harbury Lane.  Parking in Harbury Lane is not an option and the single entry/egress point to our current site is very restrictive.  At our recent game versus Scarborough Athletic 902 fans were in attendance and despite the hard work of our car parking team it nevertheless took 45 minutes to get the cars off site.

In the current world of the climate emergency and greenhouse gasses it is not a good look when our major sporting location in Warwickshire is not easily accessible to the community by foot, cycle or public transport. Our out of town location also massively impacts upon our financial sustainability due to the restrictions of drink drive and our inaccessibility.  A common refrain I hear from many in the community is that if we were in town we would attend matches. 

We launched our Brakes Community Foundation CIO almost 4 years ago and our growth of community work has been immense and continues to grow apace.  We teach and coach in 9 schools, run disability programmes, school holiday camps plus a host of other community activities.  Add in 30 Junior teams and volunteers and an average gate of 670 fans we reckon that in an average week we interact with about 2000-2500 individuals.  Need I say more.  Well I will.  If we were in the heart of the community we conservatively estimate that those numbers would triple.

Over the coming weeks you will see a host of articles on the website and within our social media platforms.  Please help us by spreading the word and also engaging or writing to your local councillors (note deadline 31 October for survey).  Our club is not sustainable at our current venue.  Directors cannot continue to financially support a huge sporting and community asset that already delivers massive community benefit and could do so much more. 

MAKE SURE YOU WRITE AND ENGAGE.

Come on you Brakes. 

Enjoy the game.

Jim

Ahead of the long trip to South Shields on Saturday, Leamington number one Callum Hawkins spoke to members of the local media to preview the fixture.

The keeper said "It should be a good game. They've got a really nice setup up there, the pitch is unbelievable so it should be a really good contest. They've not had the start they're capable of, but we've played well in all league games so far so if we keep doing what we have been we'll get a good result."

With the Rotherham-based custodian set to reach 100 Leamington appearances in the coming month or two, he felt a connection with the club straight away. Even whilst out with the ACL injury he sustained and had returned to his then parent club Burton Albion, the Hawk still travelled to watch the Brakes almost weekly.

Speaking about this squad, he said "As I said at the end of last season, we won't be a side who just sits above the relegation zone and accepts that, we want to challenge higher. The lads that the gaffer's brought in and everyone who was here last season have all stepped up again to the next level and are proving that we belong at this level.

"George Ward is brilliant at getting in your way! Sometimes he gets out of the way too but he's a great defender - he's stepped into the team massively and has shown he can play at this level and probably even higher, add in the goals and it's exactly what we need. You can't take anything away from Evo (Rob Evans) or Theo (Streete) either, as a defensive unit they've been solid, and it's nice to have a defence like that.

"It's one of them where we've got to stay as a unit - and that's not just the back four but everyone in front of them too. It's a complete team effort!"

Paul Holleran spoke to local media ahead of Saturday's trip to South Shields.

"We've had a little bit of a break," the expeienced manager said. "I think that sometimes helps a little bit when you're in the middle of a lot of games and you do a lot of travelling in this league. At the moment, we've had a nice break and got back on the training ground this week so, look, it's always good to spend time with this group.

"South Shields is a stadium we haven't visited as a club before, I've heard so many good things about the place. We're really looking forward to visiting them."

Giving a bit of a squad update, Holleran added "They're all back in training, some more gingerly than others. The little breather certainly helped two or three of them but yeah - we'll see where we are Saturday. It's a busy week with two away games either side of the Southport home game, but it's the reality of what we worked so hard to get promoted into.

"We're going to need everybody. I think that most of the side will definitely play their part over the next seven days. It'll be a tough week, but we're in good form with good spirits and we're well aware about South Shields' home record is up there with the best, it's like a lot of teams - we're the same - strong at home but away form can be a bit indifferent.

"I've watched them come through the leagues and wherever they've been, they've always played a really good brand of football and are quite expansive, lots of energy about them. When they get it right, they're a delight to watch. The reality of this league is there are spells where it'll be tough, they've had a few tough results already but that happens to everyone - Stockport, Harrogate, Salford all experienced that in our time in this league. 

"We're expecting a really tough game, we're going to have to go through a bit of pain but we'll see where it takes us."

Paul Holleran has confirmed that Jiah Medrano has returned to the club after being recalled from his dual-registration deal at Barwell.

In his time in Leicestershire, Jiah contributed heavily to lifting Barwell out of the relegation zone, assisting five and scoring one meaning the Canaries have jumped from 23rd when Jiah joined to 15th.

Jiah will be in Saturday's matchday squad at South Shields, and will continue to wear his number 16.