Chelsea’s Harry Ash hopeful of a positive season as the IKO League kick starts this weekend

Writes: Evan Halliday

The IKO League season starts again this weekend and Chelsea will be looking to improve on what was a difficult campaign last year.

Chelsea midfielder, Harry Ash, credits his team’s mental strength in hard times and believes it will be a big factor in any progression they may see.

He said: “Last season was really tough for us, we often competed well against Everton and Portsmouth but couldn’t keep it up for the entirety of games.

“To our credit, I think our morale remained relatively high throughout the season and we are hoping to take that forward into this year.”

The Blues will be looking at their new additions to provide extra strength and depth to their squad and Ash is ‘excited’ to play with his new teammates.

“We’ve added a few new faces during the break. Matt Dean who is an England and Wisla Krakow teammate of mine alongside goalkeeper Freddie Palin and Richie Wintle who will both be great additions,” he said.

“We also have Izzy Papandronicou and Rebecca Legon joining after their impressive World Cup performances which is exciting. I’m hoping this bigger core of players will help us field a consistently strong team throughout the season,” Ash added.

The goal for Chelsea is simple, to win more games and continue developing what is a young, exciting squad.

Harry Ash said: “I’m ready for the season to start and I’m excited.

“I think the addition of Newcastle will really help the overall feel of the league and I’m hoping we at Chelsea can start as we mean to go on this weekend.”