NEW Corsham captain Tom Foley has set his sights on a swift return to the WEPL top tier – although they will not be taking anything for granted in Premier Two Glos/Wilts.

Corsham have played in Premier One ever since joining the league in 2002 but now find themselves outside the competition’s elite clubs after finishing bottom of the table last season.

Foley begins his stewardship of the Station Road side in Saturday’s opener at home to Trowbridge, and although an immediate promotion is the aim, the Corsham skipper will not be underestimating anyone.

“I have always played for Corsham, so it is a real honour to be asked to be captain this year and it’s a role I am really looking forward to,” said Foley.

“From my perspective, Corsham should be playing in Premier One. That’s where we have been for a long time and where we need to get back to, but you can’t get ahead of yourselves.

“I think that’s what we did last season and we put pressure on ourselves and ended up having a disappointing season.

“Other teams might look at us as the favourites to win the league, but I know anyone can beat anyone so it is going to be a tough season.

“It’s important we just take it one match at a time and don’t think about what we want to achieve. If we take it week by week, hopefully the end objective will take care of itself.”

Foley replaces long-term captain Ashur Morrison at the helm at Station Road after he switched to county rivals Potterne for the 2018 campaign, and the new skipper admits it will be a revamped Corsham team that take to the field this summer.

“Ashur has moved on and unfortunately we have lost quite a lot of players from last season,” said Foley.

“Luckily, Tom Smith has come in, who is an excellent batsman who plays for Wales and Gloucestershire 2nd, and we’ve also signed a young bowler called Archie Easton who played a few games for Wiltshire last year.

“Hopefully those guys can have good seasons and play big roles for us.”

Elsewhere, Burbage & Easton Royal finished fifth in 2017 and start the new season away at Thornbury, while Biddestone begin their campaign to improve on last summer’s seventh-placed finish on the road at Cheltenham.