By Ian Cooper AFTER spending recent years patiently building for success, Wealdstone are setting themselves for an all-out assault on the play-offs this season. Manager Gordon Bartlett believes two key factors – a settled side and a ground to call their

By Ian Cooper

AFTER spending recent years patiently building for success, Wealdstone are setting themselves for an all-out assault on the play-offs this season.

Manager Gordon Bartlett believes two key factors - a settled side and a ground to call their own for just the second season in 17 years at Grosvenor Vale - can be the driving force to improve on last year's eighth-placed finish.

The Stones' stirring pre-season form certainly bodes well, with four straight wins, including a memorable 2-1 defeat of League One side Leeds United, a match marked by new signing Ross Lafayette's first goal for the club.

And having successfully retained the spine of last season's side, Bartlett is now confident the bricks are in place for a top-six finish.

"We're definitely in better shape this year than in previous years," admitted the manager. "We're always striving to improve on the year before, so the top six is definitely the target.

"We've still got the nucleus of the side, and we've managed to bring in four or five new faces. That has put pressure on the players already in those positions, and that competition is good.

"There is a lot of quality in the league this season, but there are always teams who break into the pack, and if we can be one of those teams we'll have a good season."

Bartlett has outlined Dartford, Carshalton, Sutton United and Tonbridge as the teams to beat this season, but knows there is an abundance of experience in his still-young side to more than match the rest of the league.

Players such as goalkeeper Sean Thomas, defenders Lee Chappell and James Gray, and Callum Martin will all be important figures, as will Greg Ngoyi up front, who finished the last campaign with 10 goals in 18 appearances.

And while Davis Haule and David Hicks have moved on over the summer, Bartlett has strengthened by signing centre-half Rob Fitzgerald from Yeovil Town, striker Lafayette, and right-back Kenny During from Cove Rangers.

"There's a couple more pieces of the jigsaw to put in place, but overall the side has a very good balance at the moment," added Bartlett. "The players are developing a really good understanding, and everyone works for each other, which is a big plus.

"Last season was about trying to lay the foundations, now we really have to kick on."

THE coming campaign already promises to be happier than the last for Gary McCann, who says his current Hendon squad is the best he has worked with.

With the club's ground-share agreement with Wembley firmly established, the Dons can finally look forward to a settled future both on and off the pitch, with McCann fully focused on success this season and beyond.

And ahead of Saturday's opening clash at Bognor Regis Town, the manager is adament the feel-good factor is returning to the side.

"Last year was one of the most difficult years I've had since coming to the club, but I believe we've emerged stronger than ever," admitted McCann.

"In this league it's all about keeping the squad together, and I believe this is the strongest group of players I've had, we can finish at the right end of the table.

"We've got a difficult start, and it will take a few games to judge where we're at, but the initial target is the top half, and to get as close to the play-offs as we can.

"Defensively, I think we're the strongest we've ever been. There's a lot of energy in the midfield, and up front we've got five players fighting for two positions, so it all bodes well."

Perhaps the biggest boost of all for the Dons is the guarantee that last season's nomadic existence is firmly in the past; the club will stay at Vale Farm for the next three years - with another three-year stay likely after that.

"It's important to have that stability, that platform to work on," added McCann. "The pitch looks terrific, and credit to Wembley for that."

On the field, goalkeeper William Viner has left the club for trials with Barnet, with McCann bringing in 18-year-old shot-stopper James Reading from Wycombe Wanderers, while Sam Collins has also moved on.

Other new faces at the club include teenage winger Wayne Jackson from Fulham's academy, and Sam Berry from Harlow Town.

"The squad, in my eyes, has strengthened, we've got a strong group of 20 players which is going to be important," said the boss.

"I certainly can't see a runaway leader, you've got four or five strong sides, and seven or eight behind them all going for the play-offs."

CONSISTENCY is the key to Harrow Borough's hopes this season according to manager David Howell, who predicts one of the tightest campaigns in years.

In contrast to last season, when Dover Athletic ran away with the league with 104 points, the Borough boss points to a cluster of sides he believes are capable of making the leap into the Blue Square South, and he foresees no clear favourite.

That makes a positive start for Borough against Canvey Island on Saturday crucial, and while Howell highlighted Carshalton as one of his teams to watch this season, he is also wary of the threat posed by teams much closer to home.

"This season we just need to let our football do the talking, there's no point in going out one week and playing fantastic football, and then turning up midweek like we don't want to be there," said the boss.

"Last season we were the only side to beat both the promoted teams - Dover and Staines - and that serves as a reminder that we are capable of beating the bigger sides.

"This season will be even closer, you've only got to look at Hendon and Wealdstone to see that. Hendon have put their problems behind them and Wealdstone are in great spirit after a really good season last year, so both will be big threats."

Howell's immediate target is an improvement on last year's 14th-placed finish, which might have been higher had Borough not thrown away a series of winning positions towards the end of the season.

The signs have been promising in recent weeks, despite the loss of striker Gary Noel, who moved on over the summer. An unbeaten pre-season climaxed in a classy 1-0 defeat of a strong Brentford side - who fielded seven first team players, including former Wimbledon and Newcastle star Carl Cort.

Recent weeks have also seen impressive displays from Jonathan Constant and several other Borough regulars, who Howell knows will provide the backbone of the side.

And while the manager predicts more changes to his side in the coming weeks - he has already added Japanese midfielder Kenta Nakashima and young Portuguese striker Dennis Dagloria to his ranks - he is confident Borough are in good shape for the first game.

"It's full steam ahead now, it's always beneficial to get a good start but the key is consistency," he added. "We're capable of scoring plenty of goals, and we're defending well, so now we have to deliver.