With pre-season just days away for the Farnborough squad, the hard work begins now.

Francis Vines meets his revamped squad next Thursday night for what is likely to be a gruelling fitness check as they begins preparations for life in the BGB Southern Premier.

With a total of 16 players now contracted to the club, plus other members of last season’s title-winning squad invited back for pre-season, Vines has plenty of options.

One player who will almost certainly be at Bisley FC’s Lion Park next Thursday is Marcus Richardson, despite the uncertainty that still hangs over his future.

He is not one of the 16 who signed deals at Cherrywood Road, and, not surprisingly for a man with such vast Football League experience, the 30-year-old powerful frontman is a striker in demand.

Richardson told the Mail last week that he does have offers on the table that would see him move back to playing full-time football, but that he is yet to decide his future.

“I will be honest and say that I have had offers from clubs at a much higher level than Farnborough,” he said. “I have had two offers from Conference sides, but I’m undecided right now.

“I still keep in contact with a lot of players and managers and they all tell me I could play at a higher level.

“At times I have missed training every day and playing at that high level.”

He added: “But it’s a tough decision because I fell out of love with full-time football and that is why I joined Farnborough.

“To be fair, it was Farnborough that put the joy back into playing football for me. The club were great to me last season and the fans were fantastic.

“I will say that at this moment in time, I have every intention to be at pre-season training with Boro. I’m weighing up my options but a lot of me does want to be a part of what’s happening at Farnborough.

“If that changes, Simon [Hollis] and Francis will be the first people to know.”

His manager however, is much more convinced where Richardson’s future lies, and Vines also threw down the gauntlet to his sought-after striker.

The former-Basingstoke Town boss said he wanted to see much more from Richardson this season, and believes that is exactly what he will get.

"I believe that Marcus has always been keen to stay,” he said. “He does have other offers, offering more money, and you have to consider them of course, but I still expect him to stay.

“He’s intent on rolling up his sleeves and giving us more than he did last season. He didn’t score enough goals last year and he knows that. I think he should be scoring every game he plays at this level, and I will set him that target.

“I know he’s been working at the gym every day and he wants to perform, which is great to see, even before pre-season has started.

“If he performs to his absolute potential then he will be totally unplayable, and obviously would be a huge asset to us.”

Whilst Richardson himself appears less certain of where he will be playing come the season’s big kick-off in August, he confirmed that he had indeed been working hard to improve his fitness.

“I have been training really hard since last season,” he said. “I have been in the gym every day and I feel really good.

“Towards the end of last season I felt like I was unfit, and that obviously came to a head when I injured my hamstring in training before the cup final. That was so disappointing.

“At the moment I’m a lot fitter and stronger than I was at the end of the season, and with a good pre-season behind me too I think I will be in great condition.”

He also echoed his manager’s sentiments regarding his goalscoring form.

Last season he performed well, grabbing his fair share of assists as well as scoring 17 goals in 38 appearances.

Rather than an out-and-out goalscorer, he appeared to be more in the Emile Heskey mould than an Alan Shearer, but Richardson said he too felt his tally was not enough.

“I wasn’t happy with how many goals I scored last year, so Francis is right to say I didn’t score enough,” he said. “I know I should have scored more goals, and if I had hit 30 then I’d have been happy.

“Keith Curle [Richardson’s manager at Chester City] told me just before I signed for Farnborough that I would score a goal a game in the Conference, so I have no problem with Francis saying I should do that at this level.

“I think I’m stronger than most players, and in a way I’m letting myself down if I don’t score more. It’s a high standard to keep up, but at times I feel unstoppable when I’m playing.

“But last season I actually got a lot more out of setting up others. It gave me a lot of joy when I set up Nic Ciardini for goals, because I could see how much it meant to him.”

So, the question still remains as to where he will be plying his trade in the coming season, but for the moment at least, it seems that the chants of ‘Marcus Richardson, na na na, Marcus Richardson’ will still be ringing around Cherrywood Road.

Regardless of where he is playing, Richardson clearly loves the club, and he was certain that Boro have every chance of making it two promotions in as many years.

“I think we have a great team for next season,” he enthused. “We have kept the core from last season, which is good, and Vines knows what he is doing.

“He has done it at the top level of non-league football and you have to respect that.
“I personally feel that if we get off to a good start, and are still up there around Christmas, then we have a great chance of back-to-back promotions.

“It will be tough, but we can do it and we should, because Farnborough is a Conference club.

“If you are a non-league footballer then there's no bigger or better place to play at. Simon’s got big plans for the club and being a part of them would be great.”

See Tuesday's Mail for more from Vines and the latest on Leigh Rumbold's future at the club.