NICK Maggs has his fingers crossed that he’ll take to the Toolstation League like a duck to water as he prepares for his first game in charge of Chippenham Park.

The former Pewsey Vale boss has succeeded Dave Ferris in the Park hotseat and despite admitting to having little knowledge of the Toolstation League, Maggs is aiming to be a quick learner.

“To be honest, I don’t have a huge amount of local knowledge of the area because I know more about where I live in Swindon and the Wessex League because of my time at Pewsey but I’m looking forward to learning about it,” said Maggs, whose side travel to local rivals Devizes Town for their season-opener on Saturday.

“What I like is that there are a lot more local teams in the Western League – you’ve got Calne, Corsham and Melksham all really near to us.

“The dynamics are different but it’s good to have those local games.

“When I was at Pewsey, Andover New Street and Tadley Calleva were the closest teams to us but there were still a while away, so they didn’t feel like derbies.

“Tim Smith agreeing to stay on has been a big help – he was Dave Ferris’ assistant and it helps to make life a lot easier.

“Luckily, from what I’ve seen so far, most of the players that were here last season have stayed with the club, which is a big bonus.

“A lot of players have left Chippenham Park Development to go to Corsham, because they’ve followed Nigel Tripp, who was the manager there, but I’m glad that we’ve got most of the guys that were here last year at Park.”

Local companies Shoestrings Chargrill, who run a number of food outlets in the town, and Atlas Gyms, where Maggs’ squad will be doing some of their training as the season goes on, have both come in as Park’s new sponsors.