Bermuda Hogges should have a lot more firepower in attack this season.

We've brought in three new strikers (John Barry Nusum, Aljame Zuill and Keishen Bean) and I'll have a lot more options available to me in that position.

Although Shaun (Goater) and I were playing last season we weren't really looking to put pressure on anyone and I believe there will be more competition for starting places now.

We're expecting Damon Ming and Stevie Astwood, our franchise players, to step things up this season. They're both in the last year of their franchise contract so it's going to be an important season for them.

I've also got high hopes for Kwame Steede. Kwame carried an injury into last season so it would be unfair to judge him. But he's had a good campaign with Devonshire Cougars and knows what USL-D2 football is all about.

Domico Coddington may have been on last season's roster but injury pretty much ruled him out from the off. He's got pace to burn and gives us another dimension in attack. We also have guys like Ming and Lashun Dill who are no slouches either. Keishen Bean is also deceptively quick and is sharp in his speed of thought. I'm sure he will prove an excellent acquisition.

Our defence was another concern for us and by bringing in Kofi Dill hopefully we will look a lot stronger at the back. With one season under our belts I'm sure our players will make the transition from domestic football to the USL-2 quicker than they did last year.

Obviously the new boys will take time to adapt to the higher level and I think they'll find it's harder than it looks on the sidelines.

To be honest our pre-season hasn't gone as well as we would've liked. Our players have been involved with their clubs for longer than we anticipated and many of our squad have been involved in Bermuda's World Cup campaign.

But we must cope the best we can and I'm confident we'll show signs of improvements this campaign.

Charlotte Eagles are certainly a tough opening match for us.

They're one of the perennial favourites and will set the benchmark for our players in terms of what's expected from them this season.