CHIPPENHAM Town boss Mark Collier is under no illusions regarding the competitiveness of the National League South division ahead of this weekend’s season opener at Hemel Hempstead.

Collier watched his men concede only two goals in five pre-season fixtures, both of which occurred against Cirencester during the Bluebirds’ 2-2 draw at the Corinium Stadium.

Despite comfortable wins against Football League outfits Newport County and Swindon Town, as well as other triumphs over Melksham Town and Yate Town, the Chippenham boss remains focussed on the job in hand – admitting highs and lows await his men over the next nine months.

He said: “Progression is the key word from my point of view. I am under no illusions at how difficult and competitive the league is going to be this season.

"It has been well documented by quite a few managers how strong the league is, and I think there will be 10 or 12 teams in with a chance of not just promotion, but actually winning the league. That just shows how tough it is.

“When you look down the list of teams, they have all got title credentials, but we just have to focus on ourselves and own our performance levels.

“If we do that, I would like to think we will be fine. We need to embrace what is in front of us and look forward to a different challenge every week.”

Chippenham’s first year in the second tier of non-league football ended with Collier’s men finding late form to finish 13th.

Their ending position was a far cry from the Bluebirds’ situation at the start of February, which followed a two-month losing run where Town secured only two points from eight matches.

Therefore, taking each month as it comes is a mentality Collier is keen to engrave in his players’ heads prior to Saturday’s opener.

“We just take each segment of the season as it comes,” said Collier.

“If we are in a decent position come Christmas, hopefully we can push on.

“We have got to take those first 10 to 12 and see where we settle - hopefully we will be in a good place.

“We haven’t got any players new to this division. All the lads that we have brought in have played in it, and some in the league above as well, so their experience will be absolutely paramount to us.

“We have got a decent group of players, we need to keep most of them fit and if we can do that, I would like to think we can be competitive. It is a fantastic league to be playing in and we are looking forward to it.”