Devonshire Cougars boss Dennis Brown has backed his troops to bounce back from their Charity Cup loss to North Village as they prepare for their opening Dudley Eve game against PHC tomorrow at Bernard Park.The Big Cats, last year’s beaten finalists to Village, are pitted in a group with PHC and Southampton Rangers, and will be odds-on favourites to get out of the group along with the Zebras.While their opening group game against Rangers was postponed earlier this week, Brown has his team ready for battle and downplayed the loss to last year’s league champions.“Obviously it wasn’t the required result but a result that showed you a lot about your side and what needs to be done,” said Brown. “In the end the result wasn’t in our favour but in the first half especially, I saw lots of positives in our performance in relation to implementing the game plan.“In the second half I felt that we let our guard down a bit at a crucial stage and paid for it with the first goal. After that we were always chasing the game when we gave away a questionable penalty decision.“We have lots of positives to look forward to for the upcoming season and I believe when we gain our match fitness and increase our football intelligence, then we will be a real handful for teams.“Overall I think that the result looks flattering for Village but it could have all been different if we were more clinical in front of goal in the first half.”The side play PHC who also have a new coach at the helm in Brian Anderson and have acquired some new faces who could go a long way in determining how well their season plays out.Shakir Smith, Marco Piper and Thomas Brown have made their way to the Warwick side to bolster their ranks, although the club possess a wealth of talent already at their disposal.With no time to rest on their loss, Brown is adamant that his side will approach their opening Dudley Eve game with purpose as their opening league fixture looms on the horizon.“We have no time to rest but this is what I would prefer and that is to get in a couple of matches under our belt before we open our league campaign against Village at Bernard Park next weekend.“We will approach the Dudley Eve like any other match and that is to perform to our optimal levels and look to improve with each match.“This gives me an opportunity to see players in top level match intensity situations unlike pre-season matches where we might utilsze more fringe players.”Cougars’ clash with PHC will kick off at 3 pm while Dandy Town lock horns with St. George’s at 5 pm.