Hendon manager Gary McCann says performances in friendly matches are “far more important” than results after the Greens completed pre-season with a 2-0 loss at Staines Town on Saturday.

The Greens slipped to defeat against the Conference South side, with Chace O’Neill and Louie Theophanous scoring before half-time to secure the win for the Swans.

Speaking to the club’s website, McCann (pictured) said: “Overall I was very pleased with the performances both on Saturday and the Chesham game at the start of last week. We didn’t win either game, but in pre-season, the performances are far more important than the results.

“We struggled to get to grips with their shape in the early part of the game. It was disappointing that they got too much of the ball and we didn’t see enough of it ourselves.”

McCann continued: “After tinkering with our shape we got far more into the game and we had some good scoring chances. For a long period in that first half, we were at least as good as them, only for a defensive lapse to give them a second goal.”

The Greens begin their 2014/15 Ryman Premier League season with a trip to Bury Town on Saturday and McCann has been able to further strengthen his squad, re-signing striker Aaron Morgan and capturing forward Richard Worrell - formerly of Waltham Forest and Haringey Borough.

Fellow Ryman Premier side Wingate and Finchley have enjoyed a “really successful” summer, according to director of football David Norman, after the club added additional firepower in David Knight and Nico Muir.

Knight hit 37 goals for Thurrock last term, whilst Muir netted 29 times for Northwood and Norman has been encouraged by the club’s business in pre-season.

He said: “I think we - head coach Danny Nielsen and myself - feel that we’ve had a really successful summer in rebuilding from the end of last season. We’ve done a lot of our business earlier in the summer and we’ve signed several players we had been looking at for the last 12 months.”

“We were very pleased with the squad at the end of the season and particularly our most recent signing, Stuart Lake, who was captain at Hampton and Richmond. He’s very experienced, 34 years old and will be joining the coaching staff this season.”

Wingate completed their pre-season schedule with a comfortable 3-0 win over Essex Senior League new-boys Waltham Forest on Saturday.

Goals from Karl Olayide, Knight and Eddie Adjei sealed the win for Wingate, who begin the new league campaign with a visit from Leiston on Saturday.