The New Saints begin a new era against Craig Harrison’s old club

Saints parted company with Limbrick – who led them to a JD Cymru Premier and Welsh Cup double last season – after being knocked out of Europe last week.

Having been eliminated from the Champions League by Linfield from Northern Ireland, Saints then saw their hopes of progress in the Uefa Europa Conference League ended by Icelandic club Vikingur Reykjavik.

Saints appointed Chris Seargeant as interim head coach in the build-up to the game before welcoming back former manager Craig Harrison – from tomorrow’s opponents.

Speaking about the man he was expecting to be facing, Seargeant said: “He’s a top, top manager. I’ve got a lot of respect for Craig. I’ve got a good relationship with Craig, so any team Craig Harrison’s in charge of is organised and they’re going to work their absolute socks off for him.

“We’ve got to turn up, run hard and then start enjoying our footie again.”

Looking ahead to tomorrow’s cup tie against Nomads – the current cup holders – Seargeant said: “It’s been a good couple of days training. The lads have been on it. They understand what’s expected.

“They understand there’s a little bit of pressure on, but again it’s important to make them relax a little bit and go and enjoy their footie for the next couple of weeks.

“I’ve said before they are playing for places, everyone’s aware of that, so that’s football.”

He added: “We turn up Saturday and we do what we do, what we have done for the last 18 months under Anthony as well, everything that won that league back last year, so it’s important to remember that we are the champions and Connah’s Quay need to worry about us as well.”

Saints begin their JD Cymru Premier season with a trip to Newtown the following Saturday, August 13.