Workington Reds stalwart Kyle May hopes his teammate Josh Calvert can continue to progress at the heart of the team’s defence next season.

Calvert, 20, was one of the standout performers for Reds last season as the West Cumbrians finished as runners-up in the Evo-Stik Premier Division.

Workington had the second best defensive record in the league last year after conceding just 39 goals in 46 matches. Early signs look promising for next season with Reds having already kept four clean sheets so far this pre-season.

It looks likely that new manager Derek Townsley will partner Calvert and May in central defence after last season’s skipper Dan Wordsworth left the club to backpack across Australia and parts of Asia.

May, 32, doesn’t want to put too much pressure on Calvert but hopes the youngster can continue his impressive form.

He said: “We are missing Dan Wordsworth. He was a good character on and off the field.

“Hopefully Josh can come on like he did last season. Josh is still a young lad so we don’t want to put too much pressure on him.

“He has had a season now. We are hoping he can carry on the way he has done.”

May, who is one of the most experienced players in the dressing room, feels in good shape after a productive pre-season.

“It’s going well,” he said. “This year I have been doing a lot of work on my own. I am feeling sharp.

“You get a lot of team spirit from working hard in pre-season. It brings you together. We are all doing the work together. Everyone respects each other for doing it.”

May also hopes that the new-look management team can add some more new faces to a squad that has largely stayed intact from the 2014/2015 campaign.

He said: “It’s a similar squad. I don’t think it’s any secret Degsy wants to add a couple of bodies to the squad.

"Hopefully he can add a couple of more before the start of the season.”

May and Workington Reds will continue their pre-season preparations tomorrow when they travel to face Northern League Division One Consett AFC for a pre-season friendly (3pm ko).