Lowestoft Town boss Jamie Godbold wants to bring the feelgood factor back to the Trawlerboys.

The Blues have been in the doldrums on and off the field in recent seasons and Godbold wants to bring the fans back to the Amber Dew Events Stadium.

The Trawlerboys continued their preparations for the new season with a 5-0 win at home against Norwich United and Godbold hopes supporters can start to enjoy supporting their club again.

'We want to give the club back to the town,' said Godbold, who made 500 appearances for Lowestoft during his playing career. 'We've had some fantastic crowds in the past and there's no getting away from the fact that they have dropped in the past couple of seasons.

'We want to establish a link back into the community. If we can get supporters back through the gates then a lot follows that. We create more revenue, which could then potentially increase the budget and lead to more on-field success.'

When Godbold arrived he had just three players contracted to the Blues. The financial problems that dogged then manager Dale Brooks last season had left their mark and Godbold admitted that recruitment has been a challenge.

'We had to pretty much start from scratch and we are still on the lookout for players,' said the 37-year-old, whose side are without a game this evening after their friendly against Bury Town was cancelled.

'Recruitment has been difficult because the way the league has been set up now it means that we can't really bring in players from Essex like we have in the past. It has meant that we have had to concentrate a lot more locally and we are really pleased with how it's gone. We feel we've got the best of our local talent.'

Some of the signs in pre-season have been promising, the win over Norwich United perhaps the high point, with Ben Fowkes looking a shrewd addition.

However, Godbold admits he will be relying on the likes of Adam Smith, Andrew Fisk and Shaun Bammant to help school an inexperienced squad.

'They've been fantastic to be fair – they are good players but more important than that is their attitude to the younger lads,' he said.