Silkmen boss Keith Alexander was as interested as anyone when the 2009/10 fixtures were released this morning. And his initial reaction was that his team were in for another tough start to the campaign. But one they would be ready for when the side steps out onto the pitch for the first game against Northampton in just over seven weeks time.

"The day the fixtures are released is the first real sign that the start of the season isn't too far away," explained Keith. "It focuses the mind and whilst we clearly won't be thinking about our opening day opponents just yet we at least know now who we will be up against."

"The start to the season is vitally important. We saw that last year. We were extremely slow off the mark and never really recovered to all real degree. We had an extremely tough set of fixtures and to some extent it will be the same again this year."

"Northampton will be a tough challenge as the sides who have come down the previous season are usually some of the stronger teams. And people tell me our record at the Sixfields isn't the best."

"So whilst it's going to be a tricky test, a good result there would set us up nicely for the visit of Leicester and then Notts County. If you believe the reports County will have a bit of money to spend so I expect them to be stronger than they were. And then we've a derby game with Vale who we enjoyed some good tussles with last season."

"Morecambe and Rotherham will be looking to build on their high finishes last season and September looks equally tough with games against the two newly promoted teams not to mention games against Chesterfield and Crewe."

"But when push comes to shove, you have to play everyone twice so it shouldn't really matter what order they come in. What does matter is that we go into the opening game at Northampton fully prepared and up for the challenge."

"We'll have a new look squad, one that I believe will be hungrier and better equipped to compete in this league."