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Ashford Victoria get the new season underway for real this Sunday against newly promoted side Bliby Reserves at their new ground at Courtside. Victoria will be looking to improve on last seasons fifth-placed finish in Division Three and will also be hoping to challenge for promotion and various cup honours over the next nine months.

"Last season was a step into the unknown for us after our own promotion, we didn't know a great deal about the majority of the teams in the division and now after a years experience at this level, we should be better equipped to challenge for both promotion and the league title" said Vics boss Ryan Mills.

"We've built on last seasons side and added some fantastic and exciting new players this summer, and the squad has already started to gel over the pre-season friendlies. Although it was more important to learn to play together and build up match fitness over the summer, the added bonus of going six games unbeaten in the warm up games is an added bonus and will give us some added confidence going into the first four league fixtures".

"We know a lot about the teams we will face this season, having either played them last year or back in our Division Four days, so we know what to expect and who to look out for. It's now up to me to make sure we've got the correct players on the pitch, get the team playing the right way, and for the boys out there to perform and do the job we know we can do" added a confident Mills.

First up for the Vics are Bliby Reserves this weekend. Bliby were promoted from Division Four last season after finishing in third place behind champions Ashford Cavaliers and runners-up Park Farm Rangers. Despite a slow start in their debut season, Bliby climbed the league table thanks to some inspired form after the Christmas period and even handed out a 5-1 thrashing to Victoria in the second round of the Sheber Trophy back in March.

"We totally underestimated Bliby last season" admits Mills. "We went there in the Sheber Trophy thinking we would be in for an easy ride, and were guilty of taking our foot off the gas before the game even kicked off. I decided to change the team a little and rest a few players and the decision spectacularly backfired on us and we won't be making that mistake again".

"They have got some very good players in their squad, and I'm sure one or two players will drop down from the first team for the game too, so we've got to prepare for the game in the correct way. Jason Foster was a handful in midfield last time out, and Lee Simmons and Dan Doherty caused us all sorts of problems with their pace and strength too. I'm sure they've got a few new faces too, so I expect Sunday's game to be a very tricky encounter" added Mills.

Victoria will have to do without Darryl George and Mark Rutland this Sunday, as both are still out injured. George has been sidelined since April with a serious knee injury and isn't expected to return this side of Christmas, while Rutland has been nursing a bad ankle injury all pre-season and is not expected to return for at least a month. Defender Ryan Martin will also be missing from the squad but should be available for the second league game away at Ashford Eagles.

Matt Deeble should return to the side after missing last weekends 2-2 draw with Prince Albert, but all time club record goal scorer Jack Bundock misses the big kick off due to work commitments. That leaves manager Ryan Mills with a major selection headache when it comes to picking his first team of the season, and admits he will probably decided on his final eleven as late as Sunday morning.

"We've got a much bigger squad than last season, and we needed a bigger panel of players to choose from due to all the injuries and players with other commitments last term. But when everyone is available it's going to be very difficult to leave players out, and they must understand that it is a squad game now days" said Mills.

"Hopefully any players that find themselves missing out will react in the right way and look to improve and fight for a place in the team, instead of moaning and sulking. I really don't see that happening as I think everyone is excited about the new players we have brought in this summer, even if those players are an immediate threat to their own first team place, and the extra competition for places must be seen as something good for the team".

Meanwhile, Bromley Green manager Steve Mailey has warned his first team players not to underestimate the Vics when the two sides meet in the first round of the Ashford Charity Trophy on 4th October. The Green boss starts his first full season in charge of the famous local club and wants his side to avoid a potential banana skin when Bromley Green visit Courtside to face Victoria for the very first time.

"We've got a week off, then we travel to face Ashford Victoria in the Ashford Charity Trophy. The division 3 side will be well up for this and will see us as the perfect scalp, so attitude will need to be right or we'll be out" said Mailey speaking exclusively to the Bromley Green website at the weekend.

Squad to face Bliby Reserves (Sunday 6 September 2009)?

1- Mark Bennett, 2- Luke Hendry, 3- Tony Mason, 4- Luke Stafford, 5- Danny Bushell, 7- Shane Jupp, 8- Gary Foreman, 9- Matthew Deeble, 10- Wayne Cleave, 11- Joey Mort, 12- Sam Burgess, 14- Josh Hatcher, 15- Darren Patterson, 16- Andy Jones, 17- Darren Banks.

Ashford Victoria take on fourth division side Man of Kent in their second pre season friendly of the summer tomorrow, a fixture Vics boss Ryan Mills hopes will be a good test for his young side. Man of Kent only joined the Ashford Sunday League last season and finished second from bottom in Division Four last season, but Mills expects the pub side to do much better in their second season and expects a tough game on Sunday.

"Man of Kent have got some good players, and I know they have brought in some new faces over the close season too so the game should be a good contest. They will want to measure themselves against a team like us, so I'm sure they will looking to cause an upset" said Mills.

"I'm sure they'll be looking to push for promotion this year so it's important that we don't think that all we got to do is to turn up to get a win, it will be a tough and competitive game I'm sure".

Victoria will be without injured trio Jack Bundock (ankle), Darryl George (knee) and Mark Rutland (foot), while triallist James Carter is also sidelined with a knock. Mills may also have to do without forward Wayne Cleave, while defender Ryan Martin is unavailable due to work commitments.

Even without the six missing players, the Vics will still send a 18-man strong squad to Smeeth for the fixture, with new signings Mark Bennett and Joe Mort included. Triallists Chris Kemp, Darren Banks and Chris Saull will all feature while Mark Wallis, Dan Bushell and Matthew Deeble are also named in the squad.

Team (probable 4-4-2)...

1 Mark Bennett; 2 Luke Hendry, 12 Sam Burgess, 3 Tony Mason, 4 Luke Stafford; 8 Gary Foreman, 16 Andy Jones (c), 5 Danny Bushell, 14 Josh Hatcher; 10 Mark Wallis, 11 Joe Mort.

Subs (probable)...

6 Chris Kemp, 7 Shane Jupp, 9 Matthew Deeble, 15 Darren Patterson, 17 Darren Banks, 18 Chris Saull.

Ashford Victoria go into their two remaining league fixtures of the season in the middle of the biggest injury crisis in the clubs history. The Vics face Brewmaster Reserves on Thursday night before making the short trip to face Burton Grove on Sunday to complete the 2008-09 season, and must win both games to have any chance of landing a top three finish. But Victoria must do without several key players due to injury and may have to result to drafting in one or two new faces in time for Thursday's clash with old rivals Brewmaster in order to field a competitive squad.

Recent signing Danny Bushell has been ruled out for the last two fixtures after breaking his toe in Sunday's 2-1 friendly victory over William Harvey Inn. Bushell has been a revelation since his arrival last month and netted both goals whilst carrying the injury at the weekend, but will have to prematurely end his season after just two competitive appearances for the Vics.

Joining him on the sidelines is Victoria's all time leading goal scorer Jack Bundock who could be out for up to three months with ankle ligament damage in an accident that happened at work last week. The 19-year-old has recently refound his goal scoring form and confidence, but has suffered an unfortunate setback in his bid to reach 75 career goals before the end of this campaign.

Add to the list Benn Phillips (back), Darryl George and Richard Mills (both knee), and the Vics are down to the bare bones, although player-manager Ryan Mills should be able to play in both the final two matches after it turned out that he hadn't broken his thumb as first feared. Wayne Cleave has also now recovered from his recent hamstring problems although Mark Wallis will not feature again this season due to work commitments.

Vics boss Ryan Mills may decide to bring in another body to add another option on the bench, former player Neil Cannon being one possibility while brothers Michael Mills and Samuel Mills, who are already registered for the Vics this season, are another altermative to consider.

Mills also hinted that Luke Stafford may get the nod to partner Wayne Cleave in attack, while Sam Burgess is in line for a recall to the starting line-up after only making the substitute bench for the last two matches.

13-man squad to face Brewmaster Reserves...

1) Ryan Mills, 2) Luke Hendry, 3) Tony Mason, 4) Luke Stafford, 5) Ryan Martin, 6) Mark Rutland, 7) Shane Jupp, 8) Gary Foreman, 10) Wayne Cleave, 12) Sam Burgess, 14) Josh Hatcher, 15) Darren Patterson, 16) Andy Jones.

The Division Three league title could be won and lost at the Hythe Road Recreation Ground on Sunday as new leaders Aldington Sports Reserves travel to Willesborough to face the Vics for the second time in the space of a fortnight, and will be looking to register a first ever competitive victory over Victoria to place one hand on the league championship trophy. Aldington must win and hope main rivals Shadoxhurst lose on the opposite pitch away at William Harvey Inn to be virtually secure of being crowned champions, although fifth-placed Brewmaster Reserves, who drew 3-3 with Aldington on Thursday night, can still catch them if they will all of their seven games in hand.

Victoria will be understrength for the third successive fixture and must do without the influential Mark Wallis who is unavailable for the game. Also missing for the Vics is defender Ryan Martin due to work commitments, while Mark Rutland could also miss out for the same reason and won't know for sure until a few hours before the game commences. Club record goal scorer Jack Bundock returns to the squad and manager Ryan Mills is keen to unleash his speedy forward who starred in the previous clash on Good Friday at Aldington.

"It's good to have Jack back as we missed him last week in the loss to Shadoxhurst" said Mills. "Jack's pace has always caused problems for the opposition in the past and now that he has finally got that first goal I'm sure he will be a real handful for Aldington, and I hope he continues where he left off and plays out of his skin again for us".

Darryl George is still out with a knee injury and will remain on the sidelines for the remainder of the season while goalkeeper Benn Phillips will also be missing due to injuries to his shoulder and back, another possible long term absentee. Player manager Ryan Mills will again remain in goal and play a fourth consecutive game between the sticks, having only conceded one goal in his previous three appearances.

Young midfielder Luke Stafford is tipped to fill in for George on the left of midfield and manager Ryan Mills is keen to give the promising youngster as much playing time as possible between now and the end of the season.

"Luke has done very well since he has come into the squad over the past three months and now needs a run of games in the first team to progress to the next level ready for next season" said Mills. "He has great vision and is a good passer of the ball, and has the potential to be a first team regular next season, we just need to work on his confidence a bit and the rest will just fall into place I'm sure".

"Another thing I like about him is that he likes to get stuck into the action, and is really good at keeping hold of the ball and keeping possession. Giving him a little run in the team will do him the world of good for both him and the team, as along with Josh Hatcher, they are the future of this team"

Squad to face Aldington Reserves...

1 Ryan Mills, 2 Luke Hendry, 3 Tony Mason, 4 Luke Stafford, 6 Mark Rutland, 7 Shane Jupp, 8 Gary Foreman, 9 Jack Bundock, 10 Wayne Cleave, 12 Sam Burgess, 14 Josh Hatcher, 15 Darren Patterson, 16 Andy Jones, 17 Nasser Sulaiman

Vics boss Ryan Mills has warned his players that that he wants to see an instant improvement in his sides commitment and attitude in an attempt to halt the recent slide and poor form which has only seen Victoria win two of their last seven league and cup games. The Vics tasted defeat yet again to promotion challengers Newchurch last week and Mills knows he has to make changes to turn things around before their season slips away from them.

“We’ve got to get back to winning ways as soon as possible and find the form that we were showing at the start of this current campaign. Things have gone stale recently and maybe some players have been taking for granted that their place in the team is safe so I’ll be asking for a much better performance from everyone this weekend” said Mills.

“I thought some players didn’t really turn up last week and we were played off of the park by a very well organised and disciplined Newchurch. The score line could have been far more damaging as we rode our luck at times, and we were simply second best in every department. We didn’t close down, we couldn’t string three passes together and more importantly we didn’t play as a team and only registered one serious shot on target”.

Mills has also voiced his concerns over the constant chopping and changing of personnel this season and admits his own squad rotation policy may have had a knock on effect and be one of the reasons why his side have been so inconsistent of late.

“We have a much bigger squad this year than we did last season, and I have tried to keep everyone happy by rotating the team from game to game to keep everyone involved. But maybe the constant changes are now working against us as we are failing to find any sort of consistency in terms of results and performances on the pitch” said Mills.

“I have decided that we need to find our strongest eleven and try and field our best team after this weekends game, and apart from injuries and lack of form, I would like to field the same team for each of our last seven league fixtures. Obviously four or five players are going to be understandably disappointed to be left out now, but the rotation system simply isn’t working and I have to make changes now before it’s too late”.

“One of the main reasons why we were so successful last season was that we mainly fielded the same team week in week out, but when players were unavailable for whatever reason the replacement players coming into the team struggled. But we haven’t had a so called first team this season so it will be interesting to see how our players react” added Mills.

Ashford Victoria take on high flying Brewmaster Reserves tomorrow in what is being called a must win game by some people in the Victoria camp if the Vics are to stay in touch and in contention for one of the two promotion places at the end of the season. Brewmaster are fast becoming Victoria’s bogey side of late having knocked the Vics out of both the Kent Junior Trophy and the Aford Awards Division Three Cup this season, and another win on Sunday for the village side would all but end Victoria’s title ambitions.

Sunday’s fixture will be the fourth time in twelve months that Brewmaster have visited the Hythe Road Recreation Ground, and in addition to the two cup wins this season, The Brews also knocked Victoria out of the Sheber Challenge Trophy last year with a 2-1 victory. This seasons two clashes have seen no less than 18 goals hit the back of .the net, Brewmaster winning 7-0 in November’s Kent Trophy tie before cruelly winning 6-5 after extra time in last months League Cup semi final.

With the two sides being well acquainted of late, Vics manager Ryan Mills is fully aware of the threat that this weekends opposition possesses, but fully believes that his side have what it takes to dish out some much needed revenge and bag three vital points.

“Brewmaster are a very young and good footballing side and love to let the ball do all the work. We know their players very well and they can score goals from all over the pitch as we have learnt to our cost this season” said Mills. “But if we can play like we did against them in our previous meeting last month and cut out the silly mistakes, then we’ve got more than enough to hurt them and get a win on Sunday”.

Victoria must do without the services of their two main strikers as both Wayne Cleave and Jack Bundock are unavailable for the fixture. Cleave, this seasons top goal scorer with 22 goals, will be a big loss for the Vics up top while Bundock, who is still looking for his first goal since returning to the club following from his transfer from The Crusader, is missing due to work commitments. Darryl George is likely to get the nod to lead the line in their absence and the young forward will be keen to add to his own seasons goal tally of 11.

The Vics are also missing midfielder Mark Wallis but on a positive note they welcome back Gary Foreman after the former Fox Sunday playmaker missed last weeks defeat against Newchurch due to illness. Benn Phillips will return in goal at the expense of player-manager Ryan Mills while Sam Burgess is pushing for a start after warming the bench in recent weeks.

1 Benn Phillips, 2 Luke Hendry, 3 Tony Mason, 4 Luke Stafford, 5 Ryan Martin, 6 Mark Rutland, 7 Shane Jupp, 8 Gary Foreman, 11 Darryl George, 12 Sam Burgess, 14 Josh Hatcher, 15 Darren Patterson, 16 Andrew Jones (c), 17 Nasser Sulaiman.