Boreham Wood boss Ian Allinson wants his players to enjoy their “great opportunity” when they play their first National League match this weekend.

Wood won promotion to the fifth tier of English football for the first time after their play-off triumph over Whitehawk in May.

Their first game in the National League is at home to FC Halifax Town tomorrow and their manager wants everyone at the club to embrace the new level of competition.

Allinson said: “It is a great achievement for everyone. We need to enjoy it but also make sure that we take it by the scruff of the neck and have a real go at it. It’s a great opportunity for everyone.

“It’s exciting for everyone in the town and we’ve asked them to come out and support the club because it’s a massive opportunity for us.

“We want to make sure our own side can compete at this level and it will be intriguing to see how we perform.

“We have nothing to fear and we’re looking forward to it. We’ve worked hard to get to this position and bring in the players we have so we just want to keep improving.

“The first thing is to ensure stability as we did when we went up to the Conference South. It could take a couple of years to get used to the league and then we can look to progress.”

Allinson has another option in attack after signing former Dartford and Barnet striker Harry Crawford. The 23-year-old has initially joined for a month with the option for an extended deal if he makes an impression.

“I haven’t had enough time to look at him during pre-season,” Allinson said.

“I’ve asked him to be patient and it would be unfair to judge him on pre-season so we have about six games to look at him now.

“We just don’t know enough about how well he has done because of the lack of game time. We’re really pleased he’s decided to sign because he’s proven at this level and then we will have a chat after a month.”

Midfielder Scott Thomas has moved to St Albans City as Wood could not give him any assurances over the amount of game time he would get at the club this season.

Allinson said: “St Albans have been chasing him for a while and we just felt that we were able to let him go.

“The one thing he has to do is play football regularly and it was good for all parties.”

Wood start their league campaign at Meadow Park against Halifax Town tomorrow before a trip to Eastleigh on Tuesday night.

The manager said: “Halifax Town had a good season last year when they were in the play-offs before falling away at the end of the season. They have some very good players and have recruited well over the summer so it will be a very tough game.”

Allinson has been building his squad ahead of their first season at this level.

Wood have added the experience of striker Charlie MacDonald, after losing the goals of last year’s loanee Lee Angol, along with Luke Howells and Billy Clifford in midfield.

The club have also signed defenders Danny Woodards and Scott Doe in addition to bringing in former Ebbsfleet United goalkeeper Preston Edwards to compete with James Russell for the number one jersey.

Allinson expects the team will need time to adjust to the step up in quality but is adamant the players are good enough to make their mark in the National League.

He said: “We have to believe in ourselves because we have very good players and have a very good side.

“Over the course of the season I think that we can cause some teams problems. I think it will take a while to get used to the league.

“We know some of the teams already but we want to get up to speed as quickly as possible.

“We will know a lot more after we’ve got through the first eight to ten games of the season.”