THE preparations for Chester FC’s big Conference Premier opener at Barnet on August 10 have already begun for Alex Hay.

The chief scout is getting himself well-versed on the way Edgar Davids wants his Bees side to play in a bid to help the promoted Blues cause a first-day shock.

“As soon as the fixtures came out I spoke to people from clubs who played them toward the end of last season,” said Hay, who played a big part in the deal to bring new defender Michael Kay to the club.

“I did some homework on them straight away and I am going to watch a couple of their games in pre-season.

“That’s when the travelling really starts for me.”

Chester boss Neil Young regards Hay’s dossiers as one of the key reasons behind last season’s runaway Conference North title success.

Promotion to the top flight of non-league football means the former Tranmere Rovers and Rushden & Diamonds striker will be travelling to far-flung places like Forest Green Rovers and Salisbury City next season.

But despite the difficulties that will create, Hay will continue to give Young and his assistant Gary Jones the very best possible information on future opposition.

The 31-year-old said: “It’s going to be difficult for me with a full-time job to work around it.

“But as I always have I’ll work as hard as I can and get as much in as I can because what I do means as much to me as it hopefully does for the staff and the team.

“We’re going to need do even more homework than we did last season.

“All the games in this division have to be taped, so as well as going to live games, I’ll be watching games on video along with Neil and we’ll try to get as much information as we can.”

When it became clear the Blues were going to win their third straight title, Hay took in a number of Conference Premier games toward the end of last season.

“The major difference between the division we’re going into and the one we’ve just got out of is that we’re not going to win every game,” said Hay, who as part of the club’s new deal with Swansway Chester, has received a Peugeot 107 to travel to matches in.

“Everyone has to get used to that idea. I’m sure the fans are going into the Conference Premier with their eyes open as they’ve seen the club in the division before with the former club.

“It’s just a lot more organised, with bigger, stronger teams, and I think there’ll be a lot more tactical thinking, in terms of changes going on during games.

“We’re going into a proper football league and that’s not meant to be disrespectful to where we’ve come from. There’s some massive clubs in the Conference Premier.

“It’s going to be a test for not just the players but for the management too.

“But it’s one we’re really looking forward to taking on.

“We’re quietly confident and if the players can reach where we want them to get, I don’t think we’ll have too much to worry about.”