He has been in charge for 10 years, but Hendon manager Gary McCann says he is looking forward to Saturday’s Ryman League kick-off more than ever.

And the Dons boss has urged his side to establish themselves as the early front-runners as they target the title and a place in the Conference South.

The Greens came agonisingly close last term, falling three points short of automatic promotion behind champions Maidstone and then losing the play-off final 1-0 to Margate – and McCann intends to go one step further this time.

“There’s still a burning desire inside of me and every time the first game comes round I just can’t wait to get going,” he said. “Am I looking forward to this season more than ever? Yes I’d say so. The expectations in our changing room are slightly different to what we’ve experienced in recent years.

“When you’ve had such a good season everyone’s expecting you to replicate it and maybe even better it, and it’s going to be a real challenge for us as a management team and us as a team to do that because it was an unbelievable season.

“To accumulate 95 points in any season is a real feat, and to come up short by three points was desperately unlucky. But it’s a real challenge for the boys and I know it’s one they’re really looking forward to.

“When we’re all fit and healthy and available I have no doubt it’s the best squad we’ve ever worked with, for sure.

“If you reach for the top then the fall-off becomes the play-offs and that’s got to be your aim. I think the league this year, over and above any previous year, is more of an even field and there’s no stand-out contender. Whoever starts well and can get themselves out in front has got a real chance.

“I don’t see anyone that really jumps out and really says that they’re the ones to finish above, like Maidstone and Margate last season, so that in itself is something we’ve spoken about in the changing room – can we get ourselves out in front and be the team that they’re all trying to catch?”

That will be a challenge in itself. Hendon start their campaign away at Grays Athletic on Saturday (kick-off 3pm) and then Enfield Town on Monday night (7.45pm) before entertaining Dulwich Hamlet next Saturday.

All three teams finished in the top seven places last season – and McCann believes they could be promotion contenders again.

“I have no doubt that Canvey Island should be around it,” he said. “The biggest threat that we would see to us would be Dulwich – I think they’re the team that we’ll stand toe to toe with, hopefully, on the back of last season. They’re always a strong group and very strong at the start of the season, they always seem to start well.

“But you’ve got some strong other sides – Needham Market, Leiston, Grays, they’re sides that will expect to be in and around it. There’s also Enfield, Met Police, Billericay, the ones that were right on the fringe last season – they’ll feel they have more of a chance than ever.”

Hendon’s rivals will surely feel the same about them after their near miss last season, and McCann is expecting the Greens’ opponents to treat them with a new respect this term – which will not necessarily aid their promotion bid.

“I think they’ll see it as a scalp to turn us over, they’ll definitely raise the bar and raise their games,” he said. “We’ll be the team to beat, as such, on the back of what we did last year so that’s a new challenge for the boys. It’s a new tag that we’ve got to live up to and it’s one that we’re going to embrace.”