St Albans City joint manager James Gray does not want to put too much expectation on his players but believes they can do some damage this season.

The Saints finished 13th last season in the Conference South in their first campaign following promotion. There have been plenty of changes to the squad over the summer and Gray thinks his team will need some time to gel but is hoping to improve on their finish from last year.

Gray said: "It is a bit of the unknown with some of our players being so new to the squad. It will probably take us a bit of time to gel and I don't want to put any expectations on them. It may take us a bit of time but the players that have come in have played at this level before and I just want us to progress from last season.

"We just need to build year on year with baby steps. Hopefully with the players we've brought in within two to three years we will be in a position to challenge at the top of the league."

The Saints have boosted their squad in the last week with the signings of prolific striker Louie Theophanous and Boreham Wood holding midfielder Scott Thomas.

Supporters group Stand by Your Saints and their ‘Boost the Budget’ scheme helped enable the club sign the pair.

Theophanous scored 26 goals as the top scorer in the Conference South in 2013-14 for Staines Town and has backed him to shine for the Saints after joining from Farnborough.

Gray said: "His record speaks for itself and he was the leading scorer two years ago. He is a player we needed and will score the goals that we missed last season where I felt we were 15 or 20 short of being a top-eight side.

"His move to Farnborough didn't work out but he still scored about 14 goals in sides that were relegated. He's a proven goalscorer, has a good touch and is a strong, physical lad who still has aspirations of becoming a professional footballer."

The Saints boss was also delighted to sign Thomas after tracking him for a while.

Gray said: "He does a massively important job and I've like him for years. He is a very unselfish player and you may not notice him but he is superb in terms of discipline and positional sense.

"He knows all about the league and is a very clever player. He's fit, strong, breaks up a lot of play and plays simple football."

The Saints finished their pre-season campaign with a 1-0 home defeat to Woking on Saturday. City face Ware in the Herts Charity Cup tonight before their National League South opener at Gosport on Saturday. Their first home game is at home to Oxford City on Monday night.

Gray said: "It's a tough start because Gosport had a good year last year as did Oxford. Those are two tough games but that's why we wanted to get into this league. I'm pretty confident we can do some damage this season."

There is a team and supporters' coach going to Gosport Borough for the National League South game on Saturday. The coach will depart at 10am from the Clarence Park entrance to the ground. To reserve £15 seats, call Ian Rogers on 07714 145862.