Wealdstone manager Gordon Bartlett saw a squad of trialists don the blue and white on Tuesday night as they overcame Bedfont Sports 2-1, as they hoped to impress the onlooking veteran manager.

Abobaker Eisa netted both goals for the visitors as they began their pre-season with victory, giving Bartlett the chance to run the rule over their abilities in a competitive fixture.

In previous years, the likes of Ciaron Brown have impressed sufficiently to earn deals with the club - and Bartlett is hopeful of more to follow the four signings he has made this summer.

“Most of the boys have come through training in the last week and all looked reasonable, and the game was a chance to see how they can step up,” he said.

“I would not imagine many of them are going to end up in the squad but it is a good opportunity for us and them.”

The addition of Josh Hill and Shaquille Hippolyte-Patrick has already given the squad a more polished look ahead of the new season, but Bartlett echoed the thoughts of Dartford boss Tony Burman’s comments in the press about the amount of money filtering down to non-league.

“We’re pleased to get Josh and Shaquille on-board,” he said. “We lacked a wide man last year with pace, and Shaquille fits that bill.

“Josh was with us a few years ago and has got a lot of experience under his belt since then. He’s stronger physically and mentally.

“If I go back a few years I would be staggered by the amount of money at this level. Look at Billericay in the league below.

“Budgets are going up considerably, but we want to get the right players for the right prices as we have in the past few years.”