CRAIG Feeney has come a long way for someone who, in his own words: “Couldn’t hit a barn door in pre-season.”

The red-hot AFC Totton marksman will be gunning for Stratford Town tomorrow as the table-topping Stags look to celebrate Non-League Day with another Southern One South & West victory.

With Saints and AFC Bournemouth on an international break, Totton are hoping fans of the professional game will take advantage of reduced admission prices (£5 adults and £3 concessions) at the Testwood Stadium and enjoy a flavour of what non-League football is all about.

The Stags have made a superb start to the season, banking 15 points from their first six games. And in nine-goal top scorer Feeney they boast one of the area’s hungriest, young strikers. The Fawley-based 22-year-old banged in three successive braces in the league before finding the net yet again in last weekend’s 2-0 FA Cup win over Gillingham Town.

Reflecting on the goal rush, Feeney smiled: “I couldn’t hit a barn door in pre-season. Me and Gilly (midfielder Liam Gilbert) weren’t completely on the same wavelength then, but now he’s finding me with little through balls and Hibbo (Liam Hibberd) at right-back is doing the same.

“We’re linking up well together and at training we tend to stay behind a bit to work on movement.”

Feeney has grown in stature since spending a brief spell with the Stags two seasons ago dual-signed from Wessex neighbours Totton & Eling.

“I’ve put on a stone-and-a-half in 18 months and feel stronger now,” he revealed. “It feels a bit easier playing at this sort of level than it did two years ago.

“I haven’t set myself a goal target. Riles (manager Steve Riley) said before the season started that he wanted a goal a game. That’s a bit of a tough ask but, with the way things are going, I’m hoping to score a few.”

Feeney, about to finish his electrical apprenticeship with the Lymington-based Berthon Boat Company, would like to progress in football – and he’s not the only one.

“Everyone’s ambitious,” he said. “We’re all young at Totton and we want to push forward as a unit. We’re top of the league at the moment – and we didn’t think we’d be there!

“But we’ve got a good togetherness and I think that’s because we’re all in a very similar age-group.”

Tomorrow’s visitors Stratford sit eighth with ten points and have yet to win away from home.

The Warwickshire outfit will still be smarting after their 1-0 FA Cup exit at the hands of East Midlands Counties underdogs Blaby & Whetstone