Confidence high at City

9:18am Wednesday 2nd July 2008

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There is a simmering confidence' in the St Albans City camp ahead of the new Blue Square South season, says boss Steve Castle.

The Saints squad reported back for pre-season training on Monday and their lean physiques showed they are up for the challenge of promotion following last season's brush with the drop.

"The lads from last season came back and looked reasonably trim," said Castle. "The games will come around quickly so to have everyone fit now is very pleasing. As is the nature of non-league football we only get to train three times a week and the five-and-a-half weeks we've got (until the season starts) it is not enough time (to be ready) if the players haven't prepared themselves beforehand."

Castle expects next season to be tougher than ever with the likes of ambitious AFC Wimbledon, Chelmsford City and Havant & Waterlooville tipped for promotion. However, despite being offered odds of 25-1 by the league's sponsors Castle is quietly confident his side will spring a few surprises.

"There is a simmering confidence here," he added. "We've been offered odds of 25-1 to win the league but I would rather keep us below the radar on the prediction front. It is up to us to carry on the good form we produced at the end of last season."

Castle's man management skills has resulted in the majority of last season's key performers stay at Clarence Park, a unity that could reap dividends.

"A lot of our lads could have gone down the road for more money," commented Castle. "But this bunch are together and want to play for me, the club and each other. They will be competing against a lot of players on full time money doing part time jobs. For us to play teams like Chelmsford and Havant & Waterlooville, we will have a point to prove."

Team spirit can only get you so far, however, so Castle is relying on peak fitness to help shape the right results from the outset this time.

"We have to be as fit as possible for our quality to shine through," insisted the boss, who revealed the club are to announce the imminent capture a new physiotherapist following the departure of Jason Laird. "The fitter you are the less injury prone you are. We're not going to be blessed with a fantastic amount of squad players so we've got to do things properly, like warming down and preventative exercises."

Castle ran the rule over several triallists on Monday but is expected to have a clearer indication when they return for another session today (Wednesday).

"We've got between a dozen and a dozen-and-a-half on trial and they will all get a reasonable look at," he said. "The session on Monday was mostly running, so it was hard to tell from that."

However, Castle did reveal there were a few faces with both Football League and non-league experience hoping to earn contracts at Clarence Park. "There are some I've got to have a look at that maybe haven't had the best of times of late. Obviously, it will all have to be within the realms of the budget."