HEYBRIDGE Swifts boss Cliff Akurang will treat Colchester United with the respect they deserve.

The Ryman League division one north Scraley Road outfit are preparing for the visit of League One’s U’s this Saturday as part of their ongoing pre-season preparations.

Swifts began their warm-up matches with a 1-0 defeat of Coggeshall last weekend but will have bigger fish to fry this weekend.

Swifts will be the first of boss Tony Humes’ run-outs for his side after they managed to stave off relegation with a 1-0 win against Preston North End on the final day of the 2014-15 season.

Akurang knows it will be a tough test for his Swifts side.

He said: “We have got to give Colchester the respect they deserve.

“We can’t go into it trialling players.

“I am going to have to put out the strongest side I can, which is bit difficult when some players are still on holiday. But hopefully we can give them a good game.

“The main thing about the match is to see where the benchmark is.

“It is to see how our players stack up against League players.

“Because that is where all our players want to play.

“We will be able to see what areas they do better in than we do.

“Then we can see what things we need to work on.

“It will be good for me as well to see how the U’s do things.

“Things that I can learn from in my managerial journey.

“It is also a nice game for the boys as well.

“It’s going to be a big day with a great atmosphere.

“And I will be able to see which players can handle the big occasions and see who deals well with it.”

Looking back to last weekend’s Coggeshall game Akurang was pleased with how things went.

He said: “The game against Coggeshall was a good workout.

“Most players had 30 minutes of a game and we won 1-0.

“Damien Green got the goal which was a big positive.

“We were able to work on things with the players and we are able to put out some of the youngsters as well.

“So it was an excellent session.”

The Swifts versus U’s clash kicks-off at 3pm but the club are staging a family fun day with gates opening at 12 noon.

Pre-match entertainment will include stilt walkers, fire eaters, face painting, hair brading, bouncy castle and an inflatable goal for some shooting practice.

Children will also have the chance to get involved in a pre-match training session with the Heybridge Swifts first-team players as well as take part in a penalty-shoot out.

Streetlife driving school will be in attendance showing off some speedway bikes and custom bikes for enthusiasts.

The clubhouse bar and food bar will be open throughout the day.

Admission prices are £10 for adults, £5 for concessions and £1 for children.

In the FA Cup draw for the preliminary round stage, Heybridge Swifts are away to Redbridge on August 29.

While in the FA Trophy preliminary round, Heybridge are away to Aylesbury United on October 3.