WESTBURY United joint manager Neil Kirkpatrick says the club are in a stronger position to what they were last season.

Kirkpatrick took over from James Goddard alongside his son Joe at the start of February, and guided them to a 12th place finish in Toolstation League Division One.

Now, following the addition of 10 new faces and a faultless pre-season schedule, the Westbury chief thinks it wouldn’t be unreasonable for his troops to aim for the title.

“We have brought a few players in and it does take time to gel, but there are good signs,” said Kirkpatrick Sr.

“Our aims are probably the same as the 21 other sides, obviously we want to win it but we aren’t going to put any pressure on ourselves.

“It’s going to be a long campaign, we will take one game at a time but we are certainly better than we were last year.

“We’ve got our own expectations, we want to challenge and we will just go about our business.”

After their arrival at Meadow Lane last season, Kirkpatrick Sr believes that brief stint will only have been good for him and the rest of the management team as they prepare for the new term.

“The tail end of last season gave us the chance to get to know the players and see where they are,” he added.

“The whole group are tight-knit. That is the beauty of it, they are all good mates.

“We’ve got competition in pretty much every position and will have some tough decisions to make ahead of Saturday.

“In terms of depth of competition, we are much better than last year too, but they’re nice problems to have.”

Westbury will start their assault on the Toolstation League with a visit from Oddland Abbotonians on Saturday, while Warminster Town travel to Chard Town.

New boss Jamie Harrison will have his first taste of league action when his Corsham Town host Calne Town.